New Delhi, March 5: Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s startling ‘disclosures’ on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s academic record has left the party embarrassed and red-faced, prompting quick and harsh retorts from own party leaders. Mani Shankar Aiyar, in a recent interview, claimed that Rajiv Gandhi failed twice in college but went to become country’s Prime Minister, leaving many including him to question his credentials of holding the country’s top post.

Aiyar soon found himself in the crosshairs of many Congressmen who called him 'mentally unstable' and irrelevant in the grand old party. The video was shared by BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya on X, with a caustic jibe, “Let the veil be stripped.” Nana Patole, former Maharashtra Congress chief lambasted Aiyar, the former minister in UPA government, for digging out uncomfortable details about the former PM and Rahul Gandhi's father, who left the world long ago. “He has lost his mental balance, he should get himself examined,” Patole told IANS. When Aiyar Told Kalmadi, 'Don't Want to Share a Cell with You in Tihar!'.

Captain Ajay Yadav, Congress leader in Haryana, also frowned upon Aiyar, terming him as irrelevant in the party. Speaking to IANS, he said, Mani Shankar Aiyar has no relevance in the party. He has no say in party affairs and therefore, whatever he speaks, should not be heeded upon. Congress national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra went to the extent of dubbing him as ‘sleeper cell of BJP’. In 2012, Manmohan Underwent Operations, Never Quite Recovered Physically: Aiyar in Book.

Mani Shankar Aiyar’s Shocker on Rajiv Gandhi 

Aiyar, in the viral interview, stated: “When Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, I was very surprised. I thought he was an airline pilot and he also failed twice – first at Cambridge and then at Imperial College, London. I thought, how could two-timed failed person could become PM of the country?” While sharing discomforting details, he also stated that he studied with him (Rajiv Gandhi), and hence was aware of this. Notably, Aiyar’s remarks on Rajiv Gandhi have again put him at odds with the party leadership. This is not the first time that he has left the party embarrassed and in trouble, only to engage in damage-control and firefighting exercises later.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2025 07:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).