NEW DELHI: By now, the pattern is familiar. Justifiable congress While trying to convey a message of discipline and unity ahead of the elections, Mani Shankar Aiyar reappeared, took the microphone and embarrassed the party.Congress was once again forced into damage control phase on Monday when Aiya launched a blistering attack on the party leadership, a day after he praised the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi. Vijayan.Things escalated quickly when Aiyar, in an interview to ANI, dismissed the authority of the current Congress leadership and declared: “I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajist, but I am not a Rahulite”.Citing BR Ambedkar’s characterization of dissent as “part but separate”, Aiyar positioned himself as an ideological insider with the right to resist. However, the tone quickly turned confrontational.Targeting Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, Aiyar said: “I have total disrespect and total contempt for Pawan Khera… He is not a spokesperson, he is a parrot.”
He further added: “If Pawan Khera is going to evict me, I will be happy to step outside and kick his ass after I leave.”Within hours, Congress publicly severed any ties with his comments.
Congress responds: Not our people
Khera issued a statement saying the party distanced itself from Aiyar’s remarks: “Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar has not had any association with the Congress party over the past few years. He speaks and writes purely in his personal capacity.”Communications chief Jairam Ramesh later reiterated the party’s confidence in the United Democratic Front (UDF), saying: “There is no doubt about it. The people of Kerala will bring back the UDF for more responsible and proactive governance. “
What started the fight?
The controversy stems from remarks made by Aiyar at a public event in Kerala on Sunday. “Minister Vijayan, I must fall at your feet and request you to pick up the baton dropped by the Congress party,” he told Chief Minister Vijayan.For the Congress, which is trying to regain lost political space in Kerala, with assembly elections just months away, the visual effect is harmful. The party finds itself defending its relevance while one of its most recognizable faces appears to publicly back its rivals.
Can you imagine a party elevating rowdies like KC Venugopal to the level of Sardar Patel, Rahul Gandhi? That’s all I need to say as an answer.
Mani Shankar Aiyar
A day later, Aiyar said his remarks were exaggerated, calling them only “half a sentence” in his speech.“Only half a sentence in that speech was exaggerated,” he said.However, he maintained that the Vijayan-led SDF government had done a great job.“As a Congress MP, I want the United Front to win. As a Gandhian, I have an obligation to tell the truth, whatever I wish for. I am not a voter from Kerala but I think he will be re-elected,” Aiyar told PTI.
A pattern, not a one-off
Congress’ dissatisfaction with Aiyar is not new. Time and again, his comments have left the party blushing.On April 4, 2014, at a public meeting in Delhi, Aiyar mocked then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by saying: “This chaiwala should come here to serve tea.”The remarks immediately caught the attention of the BJP. Modi, the prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, embraced the label and turned it into a narrative of ambition and elitism. For a Congress already struggling with an anti-incumbency battle, the comment became emblematic of the BJP’s alleged “privilege mentality”.This is not an isolated incident.Three years later, on December 10, 2017, during the assembly campaign in Gujarat, Aiyar called Modi “neech aadmi”. Although he later clarified that the phrase referred to social behavior and not caste, the BJP viewed it as an insult to Gujarati pride. Modi turned it into a rallying cry.Congress suspended Aiyar, but the political damage had been done.
Rajiv Gandhi, history and embarrassment
Even after being sidelined, Aiyar continued to cause unease in the party. His comments about Rajiv Gandhi’s academic failure at Cambridge and Imperial College London reopened old wounds in 2022, at a time when the Congress was already battling the BJP’s sustained attacks on the Gandhi family.Aiyar once said: “When he [Rajiv Gandhi] I was very surprised to become Prime Minister. I thought he was an airline pilot who failed at Cambridge. It’s hard to fail at Cambridge because the university, in order to protect its image, ensures that everyone at least gets a pass. However, despite this, Rajiv Gandhi failed. “He added: “Then he went to Imperial College London and failed. Then I thought, how can such a person become the prime minister of a country?”Senior Congress leaders have publicly criticized Aiyar. The then Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole called him “mentally unstable”, while former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot called him a “Saphira” (madman). However, the party once again failed to achieve a clean break.
BJP capitalizes on Aiyar’s comments
Aiyar’s latest remarks have once again given fresh ammunition to the BJP.The BJP claimed that neither the Congress leader nor its alliance partners accepted Rahul Gandhi as its leader.BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told IANS that a series of recent developments point to a growing crisis of trust in Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.“In the morning, I saw news reports in Kerala that Mani Shankar Aiyar expressed no confidence in Rahul Gandhi, suggesting that he would not be able to lead the Congress party to victory. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has raised the slogan “Get rid of Rahul, take Mamata, save the Indian bloc”. Now in Assam, former state Congress chief Bhupen Borah has reportedly quit the party,” he said.Poonawalla claimed that these incidents together pointed to the eroding confidence in Rahul Gandhi. “One thing is clear – no one has confidence in Rahul Gandhi. He has lost 95 elections and has no mandate,” he said, adding that some alliance partners were increasingly distancing themselves from him.“Leaders like Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Supriya Sule, Omar Abdullah and Hemant Soren are all distancing themselves from Rahul Gandhi,” he claimed.He went on to describe Rahul Gandhi as a “bad asset” for the Indian group.Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai also stepped up his attack, linking Aiyar’s comments to what he said was ideological chaos within the Congress party.“Mani Shankar Aiyar tamil naduhas been insulting Prime Minister Modi for years, including calling him a chaiwala. Congress chose to keep him in the party. Now, when he goes to Kerala and supports Mr. Vijayan, it shows that the operating ideology of both the Congress and the Communist Party is broken,” Annamalai said.He claimed there was a tacit understanding between the Congress and the Left, adding: “Since the Congress knows it cannot win and the BJP is surging in Kerala, I believe this announcement is a secret deal between the Congress and the Communists. What happened in Thiruvananthapuram will be repeated across Kerala.”
