President Pranab Mukherjee had noticed that Rahul Gandhi’s “theatrics” of gate-crashing Ajay Maken’s press convention on 27 September 2013 and trashing a UPA authorities ordinance “was the final nail in the coffin for the Congress”. He felt, after the get together’s Vice President “had shown such disdain for his own government”, why ought to individuals vote for the Congress once more?
As President of India, Mukherjee had reservations in regards to the ordinance himself, and had conveyed the identical to ministers. Nevertheless he was aghast at Rahul’s brazenness in describing the collective knowledge of the Union Cupboard as “nonsense”, at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was overseas.
“What right does he have to humiliate the PM like this?” he famous in his diary. “He has all the arrogance of his Gandhi-Nehru lineage without their political acumen,” he added and noticed, “Maybe politics wasn’t his (Rahul’s) calling.”
One other occasion that chagrined Mukherjee as a minister was in July 2009, quickly after Manmohan Singh and Pakistan PM Yusuf Gilani issued the controversial Sharm el Sheikh declaration. Congress president Sonia Gandhi known as Mukherjee, AK Anthony and Ahmed Patel for a gathering, excluding the PM, wherein it was proposed that the get together must distance itself from the PM’s stand. Patel urged that PM be suggested to pre-consult Sonia Gandhi on all points.” I told them we cannot denigrate the office of the PM,” Mukherjee famous.
Mukherjee felt harm when regardless of his pleading, Sonia Gandhi didn’t enable the cortege carrying the mortal stays of PV Narasimha Rao enter the Congress headquarters in December 2013 – he felt it was “disgraceful “. Commenting on the dearth of respect proven by the Congress in recent times to Lal Bahadur Shastri and Narasimha Rao, Mukherjee sarcastically talked about as soon as that Sonia Gandhi and her youngsters consider that aside from their very own household, no different chief has made any contribution to the Congress or the nation.
This and lots of untold anecdotes of India’s up to date politics have been chronicled within the e book, “Pranab, My Father”, by Sharmistha Mukherjee. The President’s daughter has relied on the notings in Mukherjee’s diary (wherein he commonly wrote every night time earlier than retiring to mattress, after his creation in New Delhi as MP in July 1969). The diary is a chronicle of up to date political historical past.
Mukherjee had bequeathed his diary to his daughter with a rider that its contents should be made public after his loss of life. Sharmishtha has quoted extensively from the diary and has additionally relied upon the conversations she had together with her father and with most of the dramatis personae, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, regardless of the creator at one level being energetic within the Congress (spokesperson of the get together and meeting candidate), was useful and candid whereas talking on his relationship with Mukherjee.
The bonding between Modi and Mukherjee apparently started within the Nineteen Nineties when Modi was within the BJP organisation. Mukherjee usually bumped into Modi throughout his morning walks. Modi used to the touch his ft and instructed Sharmistha that regardless of belonging to reverse political poles he derived immense pleasure from these likelihood conferences and confirmed his respect by touching Mukherjee’s ft. Maybe Modi noticed similarities with Mukherjee, a humble product of rural India, who had walked miles to attend college and had risen from being an atypical grassroots get together organiser.
(Modi did away with many previous practices with colonial undertones after turning into PM in 2014. Quickly after turning into India’s thirteenth President in July 2012 Mukherjee had discarded using “His Excellency”, in English and “Mahamahim” in Hindi, changing them with “Honourable President” and “Rashtrapati Mahoday”)
The diary notes that even when Modi met Mukherjee as Gujarat Chief Minister and sharply differed with him (as Union Minister) he all the time touched his ft. This observe continued when Modi went to see the President as Prime Minister-elect. After Mukherjee left Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi continued to fulfill him. He even went to Mukherjee after his 2019 re-election.
On 26 Might 2014, erstwhile Congress stalwart President Mukherjee swore within the Modi regime. Recalling his four-decade affiliation with the Congress and that of his father (Kamadakinkar Mukherjee) who had earlier served the Congress for 40 years, Mukherjee wrote, “What enormous abjection in the 129-year-old grand party which brought freedom to this country and laid the basic foundation of a modern state”.
He additionally famous his satisfaction that after 30 years, single get together majority rule had returned on the Centre and that with this absolute majority, even when Modi accommodated his pre-poll NDA allies, “he can show them the door without risking the continuation of his government”.
The e book information the primary assembly Modi had with Mukherjee after successful the 2014 election. After assuring him of his cooperation in working the federal government, the President sought an evaluation of the elections from the PM-elect. Modi mentioned after three many years a celebration had achieved an absolute majority. Mukherjee then requested, “What else?”
As Modi contemplated a solution, Mukherjee chipped in. 2014 was distinctive within the historical past of Lok Sabha elections because it featured a declared new face because the PM candidate, he mentioned. “The people had not only voted for Modi’s party but also for him as the PM”.
This dialog was disclosed to the creator by Modi, who mentioned,” I did not think of it that way till Dada pointed it out”.
“Perhaps Modi was being modest, though modesty is perhaps not one of his greatest virtues,” notes the creator.
Mukherjee famous in his diary that night time: “He (Modi) has clarity in his thoughts and has a professional approach to statecraft. He feels the pulse of the people very strongly. He wants to learn and does not pretend that he is ‘Mr Know All’. As a hardcore RSS man he is fiercely patriotic and nationalist.”
The creator says Mukherjee instructed her a a number of occasions that in his opinion, “Modi is the only PM after Indira Gandhi who has the ability to feel the pulse of the people so acutely and accurately”. On 23 October 2014, President wrote in his diary: “The PM’s decision to spend Diwali with Jawans in Siachen and flood affected people in Srinagar speaks of his political sense which was not visible in any other PM except Indira Gandhi.” This regardless of Mukherjee’s avowed disagreement with Modi’s “de-Nehrufication” strikes.
Mukherjee felt that Rahul lacked the ‘killer intuition’ obligatory for a celebration chief. On his assembly with Rahul submit the 2014 ballot debacle, he recorded, “Rahul gave me his views on the party in a most detached way, from a distance as an outsider as if he was not the face of the campaign and the main campaigner for the party”.
Mukherjee famous in 2014 that he had been getting not very encouraging experiences from his former colleagues within the Congress and that a few of them had “poured venom” in opposition to Rahul and complained about his inaccessibility.
Forward of the 2019 elections, Mukherjee instructed his daughter that he would acknowledge “the emergence of Rahul as leader if Congress wins 88 seats”. In 2014 the get together had 44; it gained 52 in 2019. Thus Rahul maybe failed Mukherjee’s litmus check.
When Rahul give up as get together chief submit the ballot drubbing, suggesting {that a} non-Gandhi be on the helm, Mukherjee wryly commented, “How much autonomy or authority would a non-Gandhi president have?” (On 7 December 2023, after being sworn in as Telangana Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy and his spouse touched Sonia Gandhi’s ft. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, standing subsequent to her, was not accorded that respect.)
The Modi regime paid uncommon tribute to Mukherjee by making him preside over the midnight ceremony to launch Items and Companies Tax (GST) a fortnight earlier than he was to demit workplace. Mukherjee as Finance Minister had been the creator of the proposal, which was at the moment opposed by BJP. Seven years later, when Modi applied GST and described Mukherjee’s presence within the occasion as a ‘historic coincidence’, Congress described the transfer as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ and opposed it by boycotting the launch occasion.
Mukherjee responded to the Congress stance by recording,” Serious debates cannot be replaced by catchy slogans. People might remember your slogans, but will not pay attention to your arguments if you are simply trivialising the issue”. Rahul’s ‘chowkidar chor hai’, ‘Panauti Modi’ and comparable diatribe might have been prevented, maybe, if he had paid consideration to the person whom his grandmother had anointed de facto Quantity Two in her 1980-84 regime.
(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a retired Editor and a public affairs commentator)
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the creator
