Mani Shankar Raise Questions on Rajiv Gandhi’s Academic Qualifications, BJP Attacks
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 5: Giving some ammo to the rivals to beat the Grand Old Party with, veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar sparked a controversy raising questions about academic qualifications of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and wondering how an airline pilot could be made the prime minister.
As the BJP seized the opportunity to attack the Congress, the Grand Old Party was defensive claiming that Mr Rajiv Gandhi was remembered for his contributions in the field of information technology and there was no relevance to his academic qualifications.
In a video, which was shared by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, Mani Shankar Aiyar was heard saying that when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, he and many others had questioned it as he was “an airline pilot, who had failed twice.”
According to Aiyar, who has also penned a book about Rajiv Gandhi titled ‘The Rajiv I Knew’, the ‘Father of Information Revolution’ – as the Congress calls the late leader – was academically weak. He said he was surprised how such a person was made the PM.
“When Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, people thought, I thought, he’s an airline pilot, he has failed twice…I studied with him at Cambridge, where he had failed. Failing at Cambridge University is very difficult because the university tries to ensure that everyone at least passes. But despite that, Rajiv Gandhi failed. After that, he went to Imperial College in London, and he failed there as well. Then I thought, how can such a person become the prime minister of the country?”
While it was not immediately clear when the video was shot, the Congress was quick to dismiss the comments as irrelevant and defend the former PM as one of India’s top leaders.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya shared an excerpt of Mani Shankar Aiyar’s interview on X with the caption, “Let the veil be stripped.” Malviya shared the clip of the video interview on X, and said: “Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well… Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister. Let the veil be stripped.”
Responding to Aiyar’s remarks in the video, Congress leaders dismissed them saying he has no “relevance in the party”. “Mani Shankar Aiyar has no relevance in the party. He does not hold any significant position. Therefore, there is no need to give much attention to his statement,” party leader Ajay Singh Yadav said.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar said even the best people fail, but Rajiv Gandhi “did not fail in politics.” “Failing is not a big deal; even the best people fail sometimes. But he did not fail in politics. When he was given political responsibility and became Prime Minister, I believe there have been very few Prime Ministers in our country who have achieved as much in just five years…”
Mr Aiyar’s shocker on Rajiv Gandhi comes days after the former Union Minister claimed that the irony of his life was that his political career was “made by the Gandhis and was unmade by the Gandhis.” He said for 10 years, he was not given the opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one or spend any meaningful time with Rahul Gandhi except once.
“And I have not spent time with Priyanka except on two occasions. And she comes on the phone to me, so I’m in touch with them. So the irony of my life is that my political career was made by the Gandhis and unmade by the Gandhis,” he said. The Congress leader said the very family that gave him the opportunity had withdrawn that opportunity from him.
The Congress MP Kunwar Danish Ali said, “Rajiv Gandhi is remembered for bringing IT revolution and modernisation in the country. He had also initiated the Panchayati Raj system,” – clearly indicating that the work he has done for the country should be remembered. But when the Congress and some other opposition parties raised questions on academic qualifications of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Aiyar’s comments could seriously hurt the Congress interests.
