P V Narasimha Rao's grandson hits out at Congress leader Mani Shankar for terming ex-PM as 'communal'

Taking exception to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar describing former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao as communal, Rao's grandson and BJP spokesperson N V Subhash on Thursday alleged that it was the culture of Congress to defame its own leaders after their death.

Congress can stoop to any level to defame Narasimha Rao who devoted his entire life to the growth of the party, he claimed in a release here.

"It was Congress culture to diminish image of its own party veteran leaders after their death in a bid to encourage image of dynastic Gandhi family," said Subhash, who is spokesperson of BJP in Telangana.

Subhash said Congress never gave respect to its own leaders and especially to Narasimha Rao who is known for his economic reforms in the country when he was Prime Minister.

Subhash, who welcomed Aiyar's description of Rao as "the first BJP PM" of the country, condemned the branding of Narasimha Rao as "communal".

The former diplomat, who is close to the Gandhi family, never questioned Narasimha Rao about his functioning. But now, he raised questions on his integrity 19 years after his death by describing him as "communal", Subhash opined.

"The presence of Sonia Gandhi at the book launch function further aggravated our apprehension that she deliberately did not allow body of P V Narasimha Rao (after his death) inside the AICC to pay respect to the departed soul," he said.

Subhash took strong objection on the contents of the book about resumption of talks with Pakistan and questioned how dialogue could be resumed with an enemy country that never repented or initiated any peace measures to create an amicable atmosphere for it.

Aiyar on Wednesday alleged that former PM Narasimha Rao was "communal" and described him as the "the first BJP PM" of the country.

The former diplomat, whose autobiography "Memoirs of a Maverick -- The First Fifty Years (1941-1991)" hit the stands on Monday, also batted for resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, saying that when it comes to the neighbouring country, "we have the courage to carry out surgical strikes against them but we don't have the guts to sit across the table and talk to a Pakistani".