No Mani trouble with Sonia firm

NEW DELHI: Mani Shankar Aiyar can stop running and catch his breath. Public posturing and hostile colleagues notwithstanding, he has Sonia Gandhi solidly by him on the Veer Savarkar imbroglio.
Congress sources said Mani, the target of Shiv Sena and Sangh Parivar ire for recent utterances on Veer Savarkar, is safe and and in no trouble at all. There shall be no dire repercussions of the kind some of his own party mates are now predicting.
A senior Congress leader explained that Mani was very much in line with the ideology that Sonia holds close to her heart."In typical Mani fashion he might have gone and said a little too much, but there is no doubt that he continues to enjoy the support and trust of the leadership," he said.
"There is no question of his removal or any other action."
Mani finds favour not only with Sonia Gandhi, but also son Rahul. His closeness to the late Rajiv Gandhi is a big reason for that. The articulate minister is known to be a fierce loyalist of the Gandhi family.
Aiyar is in the eye of a storm because he ordered the removal of a plaque with Veer Savarkar’s quote from the Cellular Jail in Andaman. And because he compared him to the architect of Pakistan, Jinnah.
The issue rocked Parliament in the Budget session and the Opposition is now carrying it to the streets demanding an apology. With Maharashtra elections due soon, the Congress-led UPA government has officially distanced itself from Mani Shankar Aiyar’s recent pronouncements and actions, saying "we do not agree with him."
Mani himself has been making clarifications, though nowhere near an apology. But the party leadership sees no big mess-up.
In fact, the government has made no promise to restore the Savarkar plaque at the Andamans jail.
"10 Janpath is very clear. For most part Mani has been doing exactly what is expected – target the Sangh Parivar and the BJP. Let’s face it, it would be hara-kiri for anyone to carry out such a high-profile campaign without the blessings of the family," a Congressman pointed out.
The big issue has been the timing of Mani’s actions, coming as they did a little before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Shiv-Sena BJP combine expect to make political capital and have even taken to the streets against Aiyar. Savarkar is a big hero in Maharashtra.
But the Congress, after some initial alarm and with Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in damage-control mode, now reckons that the Veer Savarkar issue will make a difference only in the urban centres like Mumbai and Pune. "We have to tackle the anti-incumbency factor anyway, but caste factors will be play the major role," a Congressman said
The Congress-NCP combine is depending on the Dalit and backward caste, Maratha and Muslim votes to come good for them. "The only glitch could be if the Samajwadi Party plays spoilsport, but the Savarkar issue will not count for much," he added.
So where does that leave Mani Shankar Aiyar? Very much where he is, actually. "There has been a lot of talk about the Petroleum Ministry being taken away from him soon, but that has nothing to do with this latest issue. Aiyar was always aware that this is an additional charge," a senior leader said.
He pointed to the fact that whatever, Mani will continue to hold the Panchayati Raj portfolio, one close to the heart of Sonia as it was Rajiv Gandhi’s pet project.