Ashok Gehlot calls Mani Shankar Aiyar 'sarfira' for remarks on Rajiv Gandhi

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday hit out at his party colleague Mani Shankar Aiyar and called him a "sarfira" (mad person) after the latter was seen questioning the competency of late Rajiv Gandhi to become India's prime minister. "His statements about Rajiv Gandhi reflect the height of frustration. There is so much frustration in him. In such a situation, a person does not know what he is saying. Only a 'sarfira' can say such a thing about Rajiv Gandhi," the former Rajasthan chief minister told reporters here.

Calling Aiyar's comments condemnable, Gehlot said Rajiv Gandhi increased India's prestige abroad as the prime minister, adding that exemplary laws were passed during his tenure.

In a video clip shared on X by BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya on Wednesday, Aiyar could be heard claiming that Rajiv Gandhi struggled academically in England, wondering "how could a person who was an airline pilot and had failed twice become the prime minister?"