By Kumkum Chadha
A former Union minister and long-time Congress insider has once again stirred controversy—this time by attacking both India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while simultaneously reopening old wounds within his own party. The remarks came from Mani Shankar Aiyar, a veteran Congress leader, who has increasingly positioned himself as a rebel voice after years on the party’s margins.
In a sharp public outburst, Aiyar condemned Modi’s recent visit to Israel and launched a blistering attack on Netanyahu, describing the Israeli leader as a “genocidal maniac” and “convicted war criminal”.
Ironically, Aiyar’s remarks came just days before a dramatic escalation in West Asian tensions. Less than 48 hours after Modi concluded his two-day visit to Israel beginning February 25, the United States and Israel jointly launched military strikes against Iran, triggering a rapidly expanding regional conflict.
Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, insisted the timing was coincidental. According to him, the decision for military action came only after Modi had departed. “The launch was granted a nod by the security cabinet two days after Prime Minister Modi left Israel,” Azar told journalists, calling the strike an “operational opportunity.” Had the attack taken place earlier, Aiyar’s critics said, his rhetoric might have been even harsher.
A REPUTATION FOR BLUNT SPEECH
Aiyar has long been known for his combative language and sharp critiques. He openly acknowledged that his tone can be abrasive, joking that his wife, Suneet Vir Singh, often advises him to be more restrained. “Unlike my wife, I went to a boarding school,” Aiyar remarked in an interview. “The only way to deal with a bully is to be more aggressive.” That unapologetic style has repeatedly placed him at odds with both political rivals and colleagues within the Congress party.
RAJIV LOYALIST, RAHUL CRITIC
In recent weeks, Aiyar has made headlines by distancing himself from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while reaffirming his loyalty to Rahul’s father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. “I am a Rajivian, not a Rahulian,” Aiyar declared, stressing that he knew Rajiv Gandhi “extremely well”. The remark rattled Congress circles, as it appeared to question Rahul Gandhi’s leadership while invoking the legacy of the party’s former prime minister.
Aiyar recalled an episode from more than a decade ago when Rahul Gandhi appeared supportive of his views on decentralised governance through Panchayati Raj institutions. But, according to Aiyar, that support did not last long. “He told me I was 100 percent right,” Aiyar said. “And the next thing he did was ask his mother to remove me.” That mother, of course, was former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
FROM INSIDER TO OUTSIDER
Aiyar once occupied a powerful place within the Congress ecosystem. During Rajiv Gandhi’s premiership, he was widely seen as part of the leader’s inner circle. Yet, today he describes himself as politically isolated. “I am totally marginalized,” Aiyar said. “For 22 years I have not been offered a Congress platform.”
His reputation within the party, he acknowledged, was not helped by blunt candour. He recalled Sonia Gandhi once rejecting a proposal to appoint him party general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir. “How can I appoint him? He is a loose cannon,” she reportedly told colleagues.
PARADISE LOST
Despite the tensions, Aiyar credited Sonia Gandhi with sustaining his political career after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. Without her support, he said, he might never have served as a cabinet minister or held multiple ministerial portfolios. “She took it upon herself as her responsibility to her husband to look after his friends,” Aiyar reflected. But that protection, he said, eventually disappeared.
In 2010, following complaints from senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, Sonia Gandhi reportedly reprimanded him sharply. “That blessing hand has been withdrawn,” Aiyar said.
Borrowing a phrase from literature, he described his political journey as “Paradise Lost”—though he still hopes it may one day be “regained”.
A VOICE STILL WAITING
For now, Aiyar remains a political outlier—criticising his party’s leadership while insisting he still belongs to it. “I have not resigned,” he said. “And no one has expelled me.”
Whether Congress leaders see him as a dissident elder or simply a “loose cannon,” Aiyar seemed determined to continue speaking out—on global politics, on party leadership, and on the complicated legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
—The writer is an author, journalist and political commentator