India, Oct. 13 -- Former Union Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Sunday blamed the Army for "letting down" former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and for the collapse of his Sri Lanka policy. He said that Gandhi stayed firm on what he believed was the need to protect both India's and Sri Lanka's integrity.

Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025 at a session titled 'Reassessing Rajiv Gandhi's legacy for India's future', Aiyar spoke in support of the 1987 accord and the decision to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) as an effort meant to stop Sri Lanka from breaking apart and to prevent any impact that could fuel separatist sentiments in Tamil Nadu.

"Rajiv knew that disintegration in Sri Lanka might ca...