'My political career made, unmade by Gandhis': Mani Shankar Aiyar
What's the story
Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has spoken about his relationship with the Gandhi family, giving them credit both for his political career's rise and fall. In an interview with PTI, Aiyar said he had very few personal interactions with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. "For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one. I was not given an opportunity, except once...with Rahul Gandhi...with Priyanka except on...two occasions," he said.
Limited encounters
Aiyar recounts interactions with Rahul, Priyanka
Further, Aiyar recalled an incident when he was suspended from the party and he had to send birthday wishes to Rahul through Priyanka. "She's always been very kind to me...And I thought that since Rahul's birthday was in June, I could ask her to convey my greetings to Rahul," he added. Aiyar was suspended in 2017 for calling PM Narendra Modi "neech kism ka aadmi" in reaction to the latter's speech at the inauguration of the Ambedkar International Centre.
Leadership speculation
Aiyar's reflections on Congress's 2014 electoral defeat
Looking back at Congress's 2014 electoral debacle, Aiyar said that if Pranab Mukherjee was PM and not Manmohan Singh, the defeat wouldn't have been so bad. He pointed to health problems of Sonia and Singh in 2012 as major hurdles for the party. "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," he said.
Religious respect
Aiyar shares personal anecdote with Sonia
Aiyar also shared a personal anecdote when he wished Sonia "Merry Christmas," and her response was, "I'm not a Christian." "Naturally, I was completely taken aback," he said, adding that he does not see himself as belonging to any particular religion. These reflections were part of discussions surrounding his forthcoming book, A Maverick in Politics.