Mani Shankar Aiyar: Deceptive sound bites of a man of mettle
, ET Bureau|
Dec 09, 2017, 12.14 AM IST
Mani Shankar Aiyar may be at pains to clarify that he had referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "neech (low)" and not as somebody from "nichli jaati (lower caste)", but a day after his suspension from the Congress over the remark he wouldn't be surprised over the way Rahul Gandhi rushed to make amends ahead of the voting in Gujarat polls.
After all, he is sure to reason, if Sonia Gandhi had to eject, in equally sensitive situations for the Congress, her original guide Natwar Singh, her first political choreographer Arjun Singh, and Gandhi family's trusted overseer ML Fotedar, then her son and the party's next president could scarcely act otherwise.
Many blame Aiyar's penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time for the entire episode that has put the Congress on the defensive - as did his reference to the Mughal succession recently and his "chaiwaala" remark in the run-up to the 2014 general election - while others maintain that there is more to the intellectual politician who has been a distinguished parliamentarian and minister in the past than such comments suggest.
On Friday, he said, without provoking any controversy whatsoever, "I will accept whatever punishment the party gives me if the party suffered any damage in the Gujarat election because of my comments.
The party has given me a lot and there is no future for India without Congress." Many who have known him for long see him as somebody who has been a proud Congressman, truly cherishing and imbibing the projected ideals of the Grand Old Party, particularly its Nehruvian moorings and commitment to secularism, and wearing his loyalty to the party and the Nehru-Gandhi family on his sleeve. For him, anti-BJPism is not a mere tactic but part of his core beliefs.
Such people scoff at "aspiring neo Congress players" rushing to hail Rahul Gandhi's action against "those who collude with BJP", saying this is another example of projecting seniors as "misfits and a burden in the new power game".
They point out that Aiyar is among the few surviving ideologically committed politicians, who also has a credible electoral track record and has to his credit many scintillating speeches in Parliament as well as a Best Parliamentarian Award to boot.
Moreover, they say, he served each of his ministries, such as petroleum, panchayati raj and sports, with devotion and passion. He was brave enough to dive into the 2014 anti-Congress electoral flames in Tamil Nadu when more decorated colleagues were cleverly fleeing the warzone. Yet he is not a fortune-seeker in Congress or in larger politics, according to these people.
His old colleagues say this former Indian Foreign Service officer, who became a worthy successor to Sharada Parasad when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was looking for an able aide and speech-writer in his PMO - was an adept diplomat during his career days.
That leaves many wondering as to why the politician in him often loses sight of two vital lessons in every diplomat's tool book - the art of verbal restraint and resort to "golden silence" as an effective tool when faced with delicate situations.
As it happened, Aiyar ended up gifting the BJP yet another stick to beat the Congress with. The BJP, especially Prime Minister Modi, lapped up the opportunity to get even with one of the chief tormentors of Congress in Parliament when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM (Aiyar had then famously flashed a faded ten rupee note at George Fernandes in the House when the Tehelka scam had hit the then defence minister and Parliament) besides diverting the discourse to a convenient plot.
For all his proclivity for making "foot-in-the-mouth remarks", though, not many think Aiyar can be kept as a "suspended Congressman" for long. In any case, as his supporters in the party say, it is easy to suspend him from the party but impossible to suspend the Congress from his mind and soul.
After all, he is sure to reason, if Sonia Gandhi had to eject, in equally sensitive situations for the Congress, her original guide Natwar Singh, her first political choreographer Arjun Singh, and Gandhi family's trusted overseer ML Fotedar, then her son and the party's next president could scarcely act otherwise.
Many blame Aiyar's penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time for the entire episode that has put the Congress on the defensive - as did his reference to the Mughal succession recently and his "chaiwaala" remark in the run-up to the 2014 general election - while others maintain that there is more to the intellectual politician who has been a distinguished parliamentarian and minister in the past than such comments suggest.
On Friday, he said, without provoking any controversy whatsoever, "I will accept whatever punishment the party gives me if the party suffered any damage in the Gujarat election because of my comments.
The party has given me a lot and there is no future for India without Congress." Many who have known him for long see him as somebody who has been a proud Congressman, truly cherishing and imbibing the projected ideals of the Grand Old Party, particularly its Nehruvian moorings and commitment to secularism, and wearing his loyalty to the party and the Nehru-Gandhi family on his sleeve. For him, anti-BJPism is not a mere tactic but part of his core beliefs.
Such people scoff at "aspiring neo Congress players" rushing to hail Rahul Gandhi's action against "those who collude with BJP", saying this is another example of projecting seniors as "misfits and a burden in the new power game".
They point out that Aiyar is among the few surviving ideologically committed politicians, who also has a credible electoral track record and has to his credit many scintillating speeches in Parliament as well as a Best Parliamentarian Award to boot.
Moreover, they say, he served each of his ministries, such as petroleum, panchayati raj and sports, with devotion and passion. He was brave enough to dive into the 2014 anti-Congress electoral flames in Tamil Nadu when more decorated colleagues were cleverly fleeing the warzone. Yet he is not a fortune-seeker in Congress or in larger politics, according to these people.
His old colleagues say this former Indian Foreign Service officer, who became a worthy successor to Sharada Parasad when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was looking for an able aide and speech-writer in his PMO - was an adept diplomat during his career days.
That leaves many wondering as to why the politician in him often loses sight of two vital lessons in every diplomat's tool book - the art of verbal restraint and resort to "golden silence" as an effective tool when faced with delicate situations.
As it happened, Aiyar ended up gifting the BJP yet another stick to beat the Congress with. The BJP, especially Prime Minister Modi, lapped up the opportunity to get even with one of the chief tormentors of Congress in Parliament when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM (Aiyar had then famously flashed a faded ten rupee note at George Fernandes in the House when the Tehelka scam had hit the then defence minister and Parliament) besides diverting the discourse to a convenient plot.
For all his proclivity for making "foot-in-the-mouth remarks", though, not many think Aiyar can be kept as a "suspended Congressman" for long. In any case, as his supporters in the party say, it is easy to suspend him from the party but impossible to suspend the Congress from his mind and soul.
