NEW YORK: Remarks attributed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but denied by his team, almost derailed the first summit meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders in three years.

The report, filed by a private Pakistani channel, claimed that Mr Sharif had called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a “village hag” while having breakfast with the channel’s anchor.

Members of the Indian media team started using the report soon after it ran on the Pakistani channel on Saturday and tried to coax Indian officials into commenting on it. They refused to oblige, saying that such reports did not deserve official attention.

But BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi disagreed with them.

Addressing a huge election rally in New Delhi, Mr Modi said Mr Sharif’s description of the Indian prime minister was an insult to India.

He called it “a serious issue” and urged Mr Singh to reconsider his decision to hold a peace meeting with Mr Sharif.

“How dare you say this?” Mr Modi said, raising his voice. “What right you have to say this?”

Mr Modi said that while he was willing to take on Mr Singh within the country, he would not tolerate any attack on the Indian prime minister by a foreigner.

“There can never be a greater insult to the Indian PM. There cannot be a greater insult to India,” he said of Mr Sharif’s reported remark. And as the crowds roared, Mr Modi added: “We will not tolerate any insult to India.”

His remarks came hours before the Singh-Sharif meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The BJP leader said Mr Sharif’s description of Mr Singh as a “dehati aurat” had caused him great grief.

BJP’s election rally forced Indian officials to notice the dispute and agitated Indian journalists as well.

“Very unfortunate,” said Seema Sirohi, an Indian journalist who had come to New York to cover the summit meeting. “You do not make such remarks about another country’s prime minister.”

Another journalist, Lalit Jha, said the remarks attributed to Mr Sharif were “extremely unfortunate”.

Both journalists, as well as others, however, said they believed the remarks were falsely attributed to Mr Sharif.

“He cannot make such remarks hours before a crucial meeting,” Ms Sirohi said. Some Indian journalists suggested that the anchor filed this report because Mr Singh had refused to give him an interview.

By 10am, when the two teams arrived at the hotel for the talks, the atmosphere had cleared a little.

Indian officials were heard saying that they had checked with Pakistani officials who said that Mr Sharif never made those remarks.

“Obviously, not,” said a Pakistani official, “the prime minister cannot and did not make such irresponsible remarks.”

Some Indian journalists said the remarks were probably promoted by those who did not want better relations between India and Pakistan.

One Indian journalist raised this during the official briefing on the summit, asking the Pakistani foreign secretary if the remarks aimed at derailing the talks.The foreign secretary said the anchor had already withdrawn the remarks, falsely attributed to Mr Sharif.

Fortunately, Mr Singh also decided to ignore Mr Modi’s demand and went ahead with the meeting.