‘A rowdy…’: Mani Shankar Aiyar’s swipe at KC Venugopal sparks fresh clash

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday escalated his public spat with KC Venugopal, taking a swipe at him after the party distanced itself from Aiyar’s earlier remarks predicting the return of the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala.

Speaking to ANI, the veteran leader said, “Can you imagine what is the condition of a party which raises a rowdy like KC Venugopal to the level of Sardar Patel, to Rahul Gandhi? That is all I need to say as an answer.”

Venugopal earlier described Aiyar’s comments as his “personal opinion” and said they did not reflect the Congress’s position.

“His statement that the Pinarayi government will continue in Kerala is a personal opinion. It is not the party's view. Mani Shankar Aiyar is not currently in the Congress party,” he told reporters.

Also read | Kerala deploys political ‘capsules’: ‘Fact check’ IDs used to push pro-govt content ahead of polls

Congress leader Sachin Pilot also echoed the line, saying, “He is not a part of the Congress Party. I don't want to comment on it.”

Congress MP Jebi Mather said Aiyar “does not understand or feel the heartbeat of Kerala,” adding that local body poll results indicated a return of the United Democratic Front.

“Mani Shankar Aiyar does not understand or feel the heartbeat of Kerala. He has not understood the people's minds and the situation, both political and the factors which will decide on the forthcoming Assembly elections... Looking at the results of the local body elections, it is very clear that the people of Kerala have decided in favour of the UDF, and it will be a UDF government with a Congress Chief Minister... We understand the pulse of Kerala... We are not worried about anybody's statement,” she said.

Senior leader Ramesh Chennithala cited a clarification from AICC spokesperson Pawan Khera.

Also read | Kerala should lead the way in safeguarding secularism: Amartya Sen

“The AICC spokesman Pawan Khera clarified the matter. He says that Mani Shankar Aiyar is not in the party. If he is not in the party, why should I comment on him?,” he said.

Aiyar had sparked the controversy on Sunday while sharing a platform with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a State Planning Board conference, where he suggested the Left government would return to power.

“So in the presence of the Chief Minister, who I'm sure will be the next Chief Minister, I renew my plea that in order to reinforce Kerala as the best Panchayati Raj state in the country, the state law should be amended on the basis of the experience we have, on the basis of Thomas Isaac's insights, on the basis of a five-volume report, of which I was the chairman, and above all, on the note on district planning by V.K. Ramachandran, which was circulated by the Planning Commission, when the Planning Commission actually believed in Panchayati Raj. I'm afraid there is no champion for Panchayati Raj left in the country,” he said.