Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar clarifies his political affiliations, identifying as a Gandhian, Nehruvian, and Rajivian, while explaining his distance from Rahul Gandhi's political approach and his disapproval of Indira Gandhi's Emergency declaration.
A public exchange of open letters between Congress leaders Mani Shankar Aiyar and Shashi Tharoor reveals a significant rift over foreign policy, particularly concerning Israel and the Sabarimala temple issue.
'The city was not only a setting but also a major character in Sankar's stories, providing the readers insight into the ever-changing and complex nature of Calcutta,' observes Atanu Biswas.
Aiyar's endorsement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has ignited a political firestorm, drawing sharp rebukes from his own party.
Responding to the controversy, Congress leader Harish Rawat refused to comment on Aiyar's remarks, dismissing him as a "frustrated individual."
Minnows Tripura shocked a team full of cash-rich IPL stars by 12 runs in a Group D match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Ahmedabd, on Tuesday.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a political row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party latched on to them, accusing the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil.
Very few know of his scintillating mind, the outpouring of fresh ideas, the attention to detail in every endeavour, the extraordinary administrative and organisational skills, and a limitless stamina and energy with which he pursues every interest and commitment, notes Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad.
It was only a matter of hours before I would be declared persona non grata; all my work would turn to ashes, and I would be revealed as a typical untrustworthy Indian. I steeled myself for the axe to fall.
The former Union minister said the question that was posed to the country then and faced it today was whether Muslims in India felt accepted, cherished and celebrated.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday joined the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens in Shaheen Bagh and attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government saying that they fought elections on the promise of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', but they did 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vinash'.
Union Panchayati Raj and Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai after he developed chest pain on Wednesday morning. "His condition is stable and there is nothing to worry about. However, he will be kept under observation at the ICU for the next 24 hours," hospital sources said.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from the controversial comments of some of its leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that only the recent CWC resolution and the views expressed by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and authorised AICC office-bearers represent its position. The opposition party's assertion comes in the wake of remarks by leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, Tariq Hameed Karra and Saifuddin Soz that have triggered a row, with the BJP alleging that some from the opposition party were speaking "Pakistan's language".
Aiyar lost his temper at TV reporters when they questioned him over an article he wrote, recalling a slur he directed at Modi in 2017.
Mani Shankar Iyer, Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, will felicitate World chess champion Viswanathan Anand at a grand function, in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Naidu.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
'We are never going to get 303 seats again. Let us push through all the anti-Muslim legislation that we have in mind'
With the delimitation exercise changing the face of Lok Sabha constituencies, many members of the Lower House may have to work hard to adapt to new political contours. But Mani Shankar Aiyar, the union panchayat minister, can rest in peace. He is the only Member of Parliament who could resurrect his constituency (Mayiladuturai in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district) after it was declared abolished by the delimitation commission.
Aiyar's comments came days after Pakistan-based terrorists on February 10 killed seven persons in an attack at the Sunjuwan army base camp in Jammu.
E-mails started originating from the leader's personal Hotmail account on Wednesday and were circulated to all in his address book stating that he had misplaced his wallet in England and was in urgent need of $3,500 to clear his hotel bills and get himself back home.
Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, had to literally face a trial-by-fire to ensure widespread acceptance of his path-breaking Union Budget of 1991 that saw the nation rise from its darkest financial crises.
Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu might still lack basic amenities, but lack of development has not deterred its MP Mani Shankar Aiyar from embarking on a flamboyant campaign.
The remark came when the former minister was asked what can break the ice in the bilateral dialogue process between India and Pakistan. Aiyar responding to the question, said, "Inko hataiye, humko laiye (remove them from power and bring us to the helm).
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta on Mani Shankar Aiyar's belief that India should secure its energy supplies by engaging with neighbours in Asia.
The Congress party is a circus and every party member has to be a part of it in his attempts to seek a greener pasture.
'I am in mortal danger not personally, but politically,' Mani Shankar Aiyar tells Anjali Puri.
In 2017, the former Union minister called Modi "neech aadmi" following which he was suspended from the Congress party.
In July, the Planning Commission said that the number of people living below poverty line has come down both in rural as well as urban areas.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. He also criticizes the government's handling of the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the Commonwealth Games scandal, which he believes contributed to the party's downfall in the 2014 general elections.
Aiyar, who has stoked controversies in the past with his comments, made the remarks at the launch of the book Nehru's First Recruits.
Former Union panchayat raj minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, lately in the news for denouncing the Commonwealth Games, is aiming his guns much closer to the United Progressive Alliance government's heart, at the way it is implementing the flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday witnessed a spat between Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal at the fag end of an impromptu debate on illing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistan troops.
Earlier in the day, rich tributes were paid to Yechury at the Communist Party of India (Marxist) headquarters at the AKG Bhavan here, where his mortal remains were brought from his residence in the morning.
Aiyar in a video posted on Facebook, however, stated that she did not live in the colony represented by the RWA and that she did not receive any "notice" (letter) from it.
Congress leader and former diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) of yore an "upper caste" service, which he claimed is becoming more democratic now with the flavour of the country getting into it.
Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar, who stirred up a controversy with his "tea-vendor" taunt against Narendra Modi, on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate of starting personal attacks against leaders and said he had only given a "fitting reply".
'How can a citizen of this country having been a Member of Parliament, and the other who has seen enough of Foreign Service takes no time in saying that what happened in the neighbourhood will happen in India'
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