Congress, BJP Spar After Mani Shankar Aiyar's Shocker On Rajiv Gandhi's Education

The Congress and the BJP were locked in a spat after veteran leader of the grand old party Mani Shankar Aiyar claimed that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was poor academically. While BJP shared Mani Shankar's video on X, the Congress said that the saffron party is expert in cutting clips. Mani Shankar Aiyar, in a recent interview, claimed that Rajiv Gandhi failed twice in college but went to become country's Prime Minister, leaving many including him to question his credentials of holding the country's top post.

Aiyar, in the viral interview, stated: “When Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, I was very surprised. I thought he was an airline pilot and he also failed twice – first at Cambridge and then at Imperial College, London. I thought, how could two-timed failed person could become PM of the country?”

Sharing Mani Shankar Aiyar's video on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said, "Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well… Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister. Let the veil be stripped."

Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically, even failing at Cambridge, where passing is relatively easy. He then moved to Imperial College London but failed there as well…

Many questioned how someone with his academic record could become the Prime Minister.

Let the veil be stripped. pic.twitter.com/m9serSGQMs

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 5, 2025

Reacting to Malviya's remark, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, "Malviya has a habit of editing things. How much of it is right and how much is wrong, only Mani Shankar can tell. But the question is not whether Rajiv Gandhi passed or failed. How was Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister? What kind of work did Rajiv Gandhi do after becoming the Prime Minister? If you want to analyse Rajiv Gandhi, then you have to analyse his work...BJP people are not even ready to show the PM's degree. PM himself says that he used to sell tea and have passed matriculation, but we do not see him because of his education. We see him because of his work as a PM. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri never went to Cambridge but he was a capable Prime Minister. So Rajiv Gandhi was a capable Prime Minister. He has given a lot to the country."

Meanwhile, Aiyar also found himself in the crosshairs of many Congressmen who called him 'mentally unstable' and irrelevant in the grand old party. Nana Patole, former Maharashtra Congress chief lambasted Aiyar, the former minister in UPA government, for digging out uncomfortable details about the former PM and Rahul Gandhi's father, who left the world long ago. “He has lost his mental balance, he should get himself examined,” said Patole.

Captain Ajay Yadav, Congress leader in Haryana, also frowned upon Aiyar, terming him as irrelevant in the party. Patole said, Mani Shankar Aiyar has no relevance in the party. He has no say in party affairs and therefore, whatever he speaks, should not be heeded upon. Congress national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra went to the extent of dubbing him as 'sleeper cell of BJP'. (With agency inputs)