Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has claimed that the party, not former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was responsible for unlocking the gates of the Babri Masjid. Aiyar also alleged that Arun Nehru, whom he labeled a "BJP plant," orchestrated the unlocking. Aiyar s remarks were made at the launch of his book, "The Rajiv I Knew And Why He Was India s Most Misunderstood Prime Minister." He praised the Congress decision to decline an invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony.