In 2012 Manmohan Singh should have been made President and Pranab Mukherjee Prime Minister; I intensely dislike Modi but Vajpayee was a good man: Mani Shankar Aiyar to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former Congress Cabinet Minister who is renowned for his loyalty to the Gandhi family, says that in 2012 Dr. Manmohan Singh should have been elevated to the presidency and Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister. He says if that had happened Congress would not have sunk to just 44 seats in 2014 but might have ended up with around 140. Mr. Aiyar also says that he intensely dislikes Narendra Modi but calls Atal Bihari Vajpayee “a good man”.
In a lengthy interview to discuss the second volume of his autobiography called ‘A Maverick in Politics’, Mr. Aiyar revealed that Pranab Mukherjee had been expelled from the Congress Party without Rajiv Gandhi, then prime minister, knowing this had happened or approving of the decision. Mr. Aiyar also reveals that his own suspension from the party happened without Sonia Gandhi being aware of it. However, Mr. Aiyar does not consider this bizarre but, instead, says such mistakes do happen. I will leave you to find out more about both these incidents by watching the interview.
Mr. Aiyar also recounts in detail how in January 1998, when he was a member of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, he had attempted to get Manmohan Singh to join Trinamool. Dr. Manmohan Singh did not agree but told Mani Shankar Aiyar “this country will never accept a Sikh as prime minister.” Mr. Aiyar adds six years later, when Sonia Gandhi chose him to be PM in 2004, Dr. Manmohan Singh was bewildered and told him he had not expected this at all.
Of Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Aiyar says that he holds me in high personal regard but considers me a political liability and also too old to be an MP. However, Mr. Aiyar reveals that Rahul Gandhi has told N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief and publisher of The Hindu, that he “loves” Mani Shankar Aiyar. But then, Mr. Aiyar adds, Rahul Gandhi also loves Narendra Modi!
Mr. Aiyar says that he believes Rahul Gandhi will reveal qualities of head and heart, that we presently don’t know of, when and if he becomes prime minister. Mr. Aiyar said that was also true of Rajiv Gandhi when he became PM in 1984. He revealed qualities and a sure footedness as prime minister that earlier others had not thought he had in him.
I will stop there. This is an interview that you must see for yourself. Like Mani Shankar Aiyar himself, this interview is rich in detail, full of gripping rhetoric and fascinating stories which reveal the nature and character of the Congress Party, Mr. Aiyar’s relationship with the Gandhis, the personality and character of Pranab Mukherjee, how Mr. Aiyar views Narendra Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a lot about Dr. Manmohan Singh and the second Manmohan Singh government from 2009 to 2014.
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