Congress Leader Mani Aiyar Praises Rajiv Gandhi's Leadership, Rips Into PM Modi Over Unrest

Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar lauded former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for his leadership in prioritizing national interest over party politics. Aiyar sharply criticized the current Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of neglecting India’s geographic and social peripheries, leading to unrest in regions like Ladakh, Manipur, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Aiyar highlighted Rajiv Gandhi’s approach to resolving conflicts in Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Darjeeling, and Kashmir through landmark accords. “What was common to all of them was that Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the immediate party interest of the Congress for the sake of the country as a whole,” Aiyar said, responding to a question from former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar about Gandhi’s “healing touch” in addressing regional challenges. He cited examples such as facilitating free elections in Punjab despite likely Congress losses, enabling the rise of the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, and transforming Mizoram’s insurgent leader Laldenga into its Chief Minister, calling the Mizoram accord “the most extraordinary of all.”

Aiyar contrasted this with the current government’s handling of crises, noting, “Today, our frontiers are burning.” He pointed to ongoing issues in the Thar Desert, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, where protests over Sixth Schedule inclusion and statehood demands led to the arrest of activist Sonam Wangchuk. Aiyar also criticized Prime Minister Modi’s brief three-hour visit to Manipur on September 13, 2025, following years of ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities. “He doesn’t interact with the people of Manipur; he lectures them,” Aiyar remarked.

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Reflecting on his role managing Rajiv Gandhi’s tours, Aiyar recalled Gandhi’s insistence on visiting India’s peripheral regions, such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. During a visit to the Andamans, Gandhi proposed providing textbooks in Dhivehi to the Maldives, showcasing his diplomatic foresight. Aiyar also praised Gandhi’s domestic policies, particularly the Panchayati Raj reforms, which decentralized governance and empowered marginalized communities. “Rajiv’s major economic programs were designed to reach out to the social periphery—Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the ordinary poor,” he said, noting that 14 lakh women have been elected to Panchayati Raj institutions as a result.

Aiyar accused several of Gandhi’s senior colleagues, including V.P. Singh, Arif Mohammad Khan, and Arun Nehru, of betraying him by prioritizing party interests over the nation’s. He urged a renewed focus on inclusive governance to address India’s current challenges, warning that the Modi government’s policies have left the country’s frontiers and social fabric in disarray.

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