Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has once again put his party on the defensive. A day after angering his party by praising Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and predicting another term for the Communist government in the state, Aiyar took aim at his own party colleagues, including Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera.
In an interview with NDTV, Aiyar alleged infighting within the Kerala unit of Congress, claiming that party leaders "hate themselves more than they hate the Communists."
He also referred to Pawan Khera as a "puppet" of the Congress party. "He (Khera) has been accusing me for the past two years. If the Congress party cannot find anyone other than Pawan Khera to be its spokesperson, it will remain in the condition it's in," Aiyar said.
Aiyar also criticised Shashi Tharoor, the four-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram, accusing him of harboring ambitions to become the next foreign minister.
The veteran leader's sharp comments came a day after he predicted a third term for Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ahead of the state's upcoming Assembly elections. Aiyar, who served as the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj during the Congress-led UPA government, praised Kerala’s progress in Panchayati Raj but noted that while Kerala leads in this area, it ranks second in law.
Reacting to Aiyar's remarks, Pawan Khera stated that he has had no connection with the party for several years and speaks solely in his personal capacity. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh emphasized that the people of Kerala would bring the UDF back to power for "more responsible and responsive governance." "Let there be no doubt. The people of Kerala will bring the UDF back. They also know that the LDF and BJP are covert partners," Ramesh said on X.
Locally, Congress leaders in Kerala were also upset by Aiyar's comments, with party spokesperson Jinto John criticising Aiyar as an "intellectual who does not serve justice to the times or the common people."