Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and said Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that he is a member of the party. “Therefore, I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian but I am not a Rahulian,” he said.
Here’s why Mani Shankar Aiyar is not a ‘Rahulian’
Mani Shankar Aiyar says, "There is a biography of Dr Ambedkar - A Part Apart. So, that's the only thing I can say. Mr Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that I am a member of the party. Therefore, I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian but I am not a Rahulian."
He said, "Can you imagine what is the condition of a party which raises a rowdy like KC Venugopal to the level of Sardar Patel, to Rahul Gandhi? That is all I need to say as an answer."
He also defended his recent remarks in which he predicted a victory for the rival ruling Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, citing internal disunity will be a key reason for the United Democratic Front's potential defeat in the forthcoming Kerala Assembly elections.
Aiyar questions electability of a divided house
Speaking to ANI in Thiruvananthapuram, Aiyar questioned the electability of a divided house. "Who is going to vote for a party whose leaders are all at each other's throats?" Aiyar asked.
Aiyar highlighted the discipline in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government and said, "Do you think the people of Kerala don't know what is happening in Congress leadership? At least in Pinarayi's government there is discipline. They have no Mani Shankar Aiyars. I am Mani Shankar Aiyar because Nehru was a rebel against Gandhi, Subhash Bose was a rebel against Gandhi. Yet Gandhi made Jawaharlal Nehru the PM of India. If Subhas Bose had survived the aircrash on 17th August 1945, I am certain he would have been the President of India. So, that is how they dealt with dissidence. How does the present Congress deal with it? They put somebody like Pawan Khera as the official spokesman. I have absolutely no respect and complete contempt for Pawan Khera," Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
CR Kesavan on Mani Shankar Aiyar's statement
On Mani Shankar Aiyar's statement, BJP leader CR Kesavan says," Mani Shankar Aiyar's blistering attack on his own party proved that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest political liability in Indian politics, and also very clearly underlines how the negative politics of polarisation has absolutely no takers. The Congress veteran's scathing comments that his own party will be routed in the Kerala elections are a vote of no confidence in his own party. This shows how leadership of the party has failed the people of Kerala..."
Thomas Isaac on Mani Shankar Aiyar's
On Mani Shankar Aiyar's statement, CPI-M leader and Former Finance Minister of Kerala Thomas Isaac says, "He has long been an admirer of the decentralisation program in Kerala... He still claims to be a congressman, but he is very impressed by the state government's achievements and has also expressed admiration for the Chief Minister." On the Supreme Court to hear Sabarimala review, he says, "Let the state government take care... It is still an open issue, what kind of explanation do they want from the state government?"
