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Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has claimed that the Gandhi family played a part in both his rise and his subsequent marginalisation within the party. "The irony of my life is that my political career was made by the Gandhis and unmade by the Gandhis," Mr Aiyar remarked.
In an exclusive interview with news agency PTI, the 83-year-old claimed that he was not given any substantial, direct engagement with key members of the Gandhi family over the years.
"For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one. I was not given an opportunity, except once, of spending any meaningful time with Rahul Gandhi. And I have not spent time with Priyanka except on one occasion, no, two occasions," he said, adding that Priyanka Gandhi has occasionally called him on the phone, which has kept some level of contact alive.
EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: “For 10 years, I was not given an opportunity to meet Sonia Gandhi one-on-one. I was not given an opportunity, except once, of spending any meaningful time with Rahul Gandhi. And I have not spent time with Priyanka except on one occasion, no, two occasions. She… pic.twitter.com/A40wVsV0vd
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 15, 2024
Recalling one particular incident, Mr Aiyar said he had to rely on the Wayanad MP to convey his birthday wishes to Rahul Gandhi during a period when he was suspended from the party.
"I happened to meet her (Priyanka Gandhi) and she's always been very kind to me," he said. "And I thought that since Rahul's birthday was in June, I could ask her to convey my greetings to Rahul."
According to Mr Aiyar, when Priyanka Gandhi asked why he wasn't talking to Rahul Gandhi himself, he replied, "I am suspended and therefore I can't talk to my leader."
The veteran leader said he wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi - a gesture that began with birthday greetings but also sought clarity on his suspension, but "never got any acknowledgement for that letter".