Aiyar revealed that despite being associated with the Congress for decades, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi rarely interacted with each other.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar recently described the irony of his political career, saying it was both “made and unmade” by the Gandhi family. In an interview with PTI, the 83-year-old leader spoke about his limited interactions with prominent members of the Gandhi family and the impact they had on his career.
Aiyar revealed that despite being associated with the Congress for decades, his one-on-one interactions with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were rare. “For ten years, I was not given the chance to meet Sonia Gandhi. I had only one meaningful meeting with Rahul Gandhi and two interactions with Priyanka Gandhi,” he said.
He also recalled a special incident when he wished Rahul Gandhi on his birthday through Priyanka Gandhi during his suspension from the party. When asked why Priyanka did not speak to Rahul directly, Iyer replied, “I am suspended so I cannot speak to my leader.”
Aiyar also criticized some of the decisions taken by the Congress leadership, particularly the appointment of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister in 2004. He argued that Pranab Mukherjee would have been a better choice and suggested that this decision contributed to the Congress’ defeat in the 2014 elections. .
He pointed to the mishandling of major issues such as corruption allegations, the Commonwealth Games scam, and the Anna Hazare movement which severely damaged the image of the UPA government. Aiyar claimed that these mistakes were the turning point that brought the party down.