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‘Indian Army let him down’: Mani Shankar Aiyar defends Rajiv Gandhi's Sri Lanka policy
He said that Gandhi stayed firm on what he believed was the need to protect both India’s and Sri Lanka’s integrity.
Former Union Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Sunday blamed the Army for “letting down” former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and for the collapse of his Sri Lanka policy. He said that Gandhi stayed firm on what he believed was the need to protect both India’s and Sri Lanka’s integrity.
Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025 at a session titled ‘Reassessing Rajiv Gandhi’s legacy for India’s future’, Aiyar spoke in support of the 1987 accord and the decision to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) as an effort meant to stop Sri Lanka from breaking apart and to prevent any impact that could fuel separatist sentiments in Tamil Nadu.
“Rajiv knew that disintegration in Sri Lanka might cause disintegration in India,” he said at the event.
However, he said that the operation turned out very poorly, pointing out serious flaws in the way it was planned and carried out. “The Indian Army let him down, Indian intelligence let him down. But he persisted with what he thought was necessary and paid a heavy political price.”
“Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed Congress’ interest for sake of the country”: Aiyar
Aiyar also compared Rajiv Gandhi’s political decisions with the approach of the present government. He was responding to a question from former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, who asked him about the "healing touch" used by the Rajiv Gandhi government while dealing with issues in Punjab, Kashmir, and Assam.
Referring to the accords in Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Darjeeling, and Kashmir, Aiyar said the former Prime Minister stood out because he always placed the country’s interest above party gains.
"What was common to all of them," Aiyar said, "was that Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the immediate party interest of the Congress for the sake of the country as a whole."
"Today, it is our frontiers that are burning. We have problems in the Thar Desert which are still not out. In Punjab, the BJP has destroyed itself. In Jammu and Kashmir, the pot is simmering. In Ladakh, the pot is no longer simmering; it's blowing up," Aiyar said.
