New Delhi: Former petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has conceded he was shocked when the Prime Minister stripped him off the Oil Ministry.
And in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar, Aiyar found it difficult to explain why the decision was taken.
Given below are some excerpts from the interview:
Aiyar: I will have to confess that I was taken aback, but I must also emphasise that at the time it was given to me, I was told very categorically that this is a temporary assignment.
Karan: When the PM stripped you of the Petroleum Ministry did he give you any explanation?
Aiyar: He rang me up to say that he thought I had done a very good job.
Karan: And so he was taking the Ministry away?
Aiyar: He said he thought I had done a very good job
Karan: And so I am taking the ministry away?
Aiyar:: No that’s not how he put it. He said he thought I had done a very good job - that he was still trying to see if I could be retained but that it didn't appear possible.
And the Congress President with whom I had a word on this emphasised that since it had been a temporary charge and the first major reshuffle of the cabinet took place only 20 months later, it was inevitable that as and when the reshuffle took place, I would lose that particular portfolio.
On being asked whether he lost the Petroleum portfolio because of his alleged initial reluctance to set up a Petroleum Technology Training school in Sonia Gandhi's constituency - Rae Bareli, Mani Shankar Aiyar rubbished the allegation.
Karan: In the process of agreeing to this under pressure from Sonia, did you end up losing the essential relationship with the Gandhi family, which was your passport to politics. In other words have you paid for your reluctance with your job?
Aiyar: I have been keeping the two MPs concerned, and don't forget they are the two MPs concerned of all developments with regard to my proposal for a Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum technology, rather than a tiny little school for which a foundation stone was laid in March 1996.
You can catch the entire interview with Mani Shankar Aiyar in Devil's Advocate, at 2030 hrs (IST) on Sunday.
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