Shimla: Senior Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar on Sunday heaped praise on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi leadership.
Addressing the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025, Aiyar drew sharp contrasts between Rajiv Gandhi's political choices and the policies of the current administration, which he accused of neglecting India's geographic and social peripheries.
"Unfortunately, almost all his senior colleagues were more interested in party interest than in national interest. And that is why several of them, beginning with Mr VP Singh and continuing with Arif Mohammad Khan who is now a BJP governor and Arun Nehru, above all betrayed him because they would not understand that the party interest can never stand in the way of the national interest," Aiyar said.
The Congress leader further took a swipe at the PM Narendra Modi-led Union Government, stating that the country is "burning" at separate frontiers at present.
Aiyar was responding to a question by former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar who asked him about the "healing touch" implemented by the Rajiv Gandhi government in response to challenges in Punjab, Kashmir, and Assam.
Citing the Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Darjeeling, and Kashmir accords, Aiyar said the late Prime Minister's approach was unique in that he consistently put national interest over party politics.
"What was common to all of them," Aiyar said, "was that Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the immediate party interest of the Congress for the sake of the country as a whole."
"Today, it is our frontiers that are burning. We have problems in the Thar Desert which are still not out. In Punjab, the BJP has destroyed itself. In Jammu and Kashmir, the pot is simmering. In Ladakh, the pot is no longer simmering; it's blowing up," Aiyar said.
Aiyar's comments come amid protests in Ladakh over its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and the demand for statehood.
The protests led to the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike in support of the demands. The Centre has accused him of receiving illegitimate foreign funding, which led to the cancellation of the FCRA license of his NGO.
The senior Congress leader also slammed the handling of the Manipur situation by the Union Government, accusing the Prime Minister of "lecturing" the people, after visiting the state for three hours following three years of insurgency.
"In Manipur, we have had an insurgency, and for three years, the current Prime Minister of India has found it possible to visit Manipur for three hours. In those three hours, he doesn't interact with the people of Manipur; he lectures them in two places," he added.
PM Narendra Modi visited Manipur on September 13 and held meetings with the displaced people in the state following ongoing violence from the past two years.
This was PM Modi's first visit after an ethnic conflict erupted in the State in May 2023, and the discord between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
Aiyar said that in Punjab, despite widespread terrorism, Gandhi insisted on free elections -- knowing Congress would likely lose. In Assam, he facilitated the rise of the Asom Gana Parishad, born out of a student movement. In Mizoram, he helped turn Laldenga, a long-time insurgent, into the Chief Minister.
Aiyar called the Mizoram arrangement "the most extraordinary of all," showing Rajiv Gandhi's willingness to reconcile enemies in the interest of peace.
Aiyar also recalled the time when he was in incharge of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's tour and travels committee. He stated Rajiv Gandhi was insistent on visiting every corner of the country.
Lauding Rajiv Gandhi's diplomatic policies, Aiyar recalled that on his visit to Andaman, the former PM picked up the idea of preparing textbooks in Dhivehi and providing them to the Maldives, the national language of their country.
"I was in incharge of Rajiv Gandhi's tours and travels. He was very insistent that I take him to the periphery of India. We visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, specifically the greater Andaman, which is currently undergoing ecological destruction. We went to Lakshadweep, and he picked up the idea that textbooks that are prepared in Dhivehi are going to be taken by him to the Maldives and tell them that we can give you books in Dhivehi, which is their national language," Aiyar said.
Aiyar said Rajiv Gandhi worked to uplift the country's social and gender peripheries -- especially through the Panchayati Raj reforms aimed at decentralizing governance.
"Rajiv's major economic programmes were designed to reach out to the social periphery -- Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the ordinary poor," he said.
Aiyar highlighted that 14 lakh women have been elected to Panchayati Raj institutions as a result of the reforms initiated by Gandhi.
Addressing the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025, Aiyar drew sharp contrasts between Rajiv Gandhi's political choices and the policies of the current administration, which he accused of neglecting India's geographic and social peripheries.
"Unfortunately, almost all his senior colleagues were more interested in party interest than in national interest. And that is why several of them, beginning with Mr VP Singh and continuing with Arif Mohammad Khan who is now a BJP governor and Arun Nehru, above all betrayed him because they would not understand that the party interest can never stand in the way of the national interest," Aiyar said.
The Congress leader further took a swipe at the PM Narendra Modi-led Union Government, stating that the country is "burning" at separate frontiers at present.
Aiyar was responding to a question by former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar who asked him about the "healing touch" implemented by the Rajiv Gandhi government in response to challenges in Punjab, Kashmir, and Assam.
Citing the Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Darjeeling, and Kashmir accords, Aiyar said the late Prime Minister's approach was unique in that he consistently put national interest over party politics.
"What was common to all of them," Aiyar said, "was that Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the immediate party interest of the Congress for the sake of the country as a whole."
"Today, it is our frontiers that are burning. We have problems in the Thar Desert which are still not out. In Punjab, the BJP has destroyed itself. In Jammu and Kashmir, the pot is simmering. In Ladakh, the pot is no longer simmering; it's blowing up," Aiyar said.
Aiyar's comments come amid protests in Ladakh over its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and the demand for statehood.
The protests led to the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike in support of the demands. The Centre has accused him of receiving illegitimate foreign funding, which led to the cancellation of the FCRA license of his NGO.
The senior Congress leader also slammed the handling of the Manipur situation by the Union Government, accusing the Prime Minister of "lecturing" the people, after visiting the state for three hours following three years of insurgency.
"In Manipur, we have had an insurgency, and for three years, the current Prime Minister of India has found it possible to visit Manipur for three hours. In those three hours, he doesn't interact with the people of Manipur; he lectures them in two places," he added.
PM Narendra Modi visited Manipur on September 13 and held meetings with the displaced people in the state following ongoing violence from the past two years.
This was PM Modi's first visit after an ethnic conflict erupted in the State in May 2023, and the discord between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
Aiyar said that in Punjab, despite widespread terrorism, Gandhi insisted on free elections -- knowing Congress would likely lose. In Assam, he facilitated the rise of the Asom Gana Parishad, born out of a student movement. In Mizoram, he helped turn Laldenga, a long-time insurgent, into the Chief Minister.
Aiyar called the Mizoram arrangement "the most extraordinary of all," showing Rajiv Gandhi's willingness to reconcile enemies in the interest of peace.
Aiyar also recalled the time when he was in incharge of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's tour and travels committee. He stated Rajiv Gandhi was insistent on visiting every corner of the country.
Lauding Rajiv Gandhi's diplomatic policies, Aiyar recalled that on his visit to Andaman, the former PM picked up the idea of preparing textbooks in Dhivehi and providing them to the Maldives, the national language of their country.
"I was in incharge of Rajiv Gandhi's tours and travels. He was very insistent that I take him to the periphery of India. We visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, specifically the greater Andaman, which is currently undergoing ecological destruction. We went to Lakshadweep, and he picked up the idea that textbooks that are prepared in Dhivehi are going to be taken by him to the Maldives and tell them that we can give you books in Dhivehi, which is their national language," Aiyar said.
Aiyar said Rajiv Gandhi worked to uplift the country's social and gender peripheries -- especially through the Panchayati Raj reforms aimed at decentralizing governance.
"Rajiv's major economic programmes were designed to reach out to the social periphery -- Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the ordinary poor," he said.
Aiyar highlighted that 14 lakh women have been elected to Panchayati Raj institutions as a result of the reforms initiated by Gandhi.
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