New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday apologised for using the word "neech" (low) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi but maintained that he had not referred to him as "low-born".

"I never meant low-born. There is a difference in English language between words 'low' and ‘'low-born'. But in Hindi if low means low-born, then I tender apology," he told reporters after his remarks in the morning triggered a political storm.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's tweet that he did not appreciate Aiyar's words to address the Prime Minister, Aiyar said he could talk about it only after meeting Gandhi.