Mani Shankar Aiyar on His Congress Journey and the Gandhis
- EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: “For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one.
Aiyar: Gandhis Made and Unmade My Career, Left Me in the Cold
New delhi: Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has made startling claims about his relationship with the Gandhi family, stating they were both responsible for his rise and subsequent marginalization within the party.in an exclusive interview with PTI, the 83-year-old politician revealed a sense of disconnect from the key members of the dynasty. “The irony of my life is that my political career was made by the Gandhis and unmade by the Gandhis,” Aiyar remarked.He lamented the lack of meaningful engagement with Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi over the years. “For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one. I was not given an opportunity, except once, of spending any meaningful time with Rahul Gandhi. And I have not spent time with Priyanka except on one occasion,no,two occasions,” he said.Aiyar did acknowledge that Priyanka Gandhi occasionally calls him, keeping some level of contact alive.
He recounted a specific incident where he had to rely on Priyanka Gandhi to convey his birthday wishes to rahul Gandhi during his suspension from the party.
“I happened to meet her (Priyanka Gandhi) and she’s always been very kind to me,” he said. “And I thought that since Rahul’s birthday was in June, I could ask her to convey my greetings to Rahul.”
When Priyanka Gandhi inquired why he wasn’t speaking to Rahul Gandhi directly, Aiyar explained, “I am suspended and therefore I can’t talk to my leader.”
The veteran leader revealed that he wrote a letter to rahul Gandhi, initially extending birthday greetings but also seeking clarification on his suspension. Though, he said, “never got any acknowledgement for that letter”.
Aiyar also reflected on a critical period in 2012, when both Sonia Gandhi’s ill health and former Prime Minister manmohan Singh’s multiple bypass surgeries left the party in a leadership vacuum. He believes Pranab Mukherjee, then finance minister, possessed the charisma and capability to lead both the party and the government.”You see, in 2012, we had two disasters taking place: one was that Sonia Gandhi fell very ill, and Dr Manmohan Singh had six bypasses. so, we were crippled at the head of the government and at the head of the party. But there was one man who was still full of energy, full of ideas, had a certain amount of charisma, and could have run either the party or the government or even both. And that was Pranab Mukherjee,” Aiyar said.
EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: “For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one. I was not given an opportunity, except once, of spending any meaningful time with Rahul Gandhi. And I have not spent time with Priyanka except on one occasion, no, two occasions. She… pic.twitter.com/A40wVsV0vd