Pranab Mukherjee book
“The Coalition Years” book, by 13th President of India Pranab Mukherjee, that was released couple of days back is creating sensation among political circles. The Coalition Years book explores the highs and lows that characterized the most tumultuous periods in India’s political history starting 1996 till 2014. His book is so candid and he explained several things that happened behind the screens during those years. Excerpts as below:
Why he did not become PM and why Manmohan became PM (2004):
Pranab explained it this way -‘Only in 2004 did I win a seat to the Lok Sabha. Second, though I was elected to the Lok Sabha, I did not know Hindi. And without knowing Hindi, nobody should venture to be the PM of India. My honest assessment at the time was that Manmohan was the best choice. Over time, he had understood administrative and political nuances. He had vast administrative experience and was well-versed in economic affairs.’
Why Sharad Pawar raked up Sonia’s “Italian origin” in 1999:
Mukherjee touched upon the attack orchestrated by Pawar over Sonia’s “Italian origin” in a meeting of the Congress working committee in 1999. “In my opinion, Pawar, as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, expected the party to request him, instead of Sonia Gandhi, to stake claim to form the government. After Sonia’s elevation as the Congress president, she consulted P Shiv Shankar on all important issues rather than Pawar. This sense of alienation and disenchantment may have been responsible for his statements on Sonia’s foreign origin, and his subsequent exit from the party in 1999,” Mukherjee wrote.
1998: How did Sitaram Kesri feel when he had to vacate the party post for Sonia Gandhi:
“On 5 March, 1998, Sitaram Kesri convened the meeting of CWC where Jitendra Prasad, Sharad Pawar, and Ghulam Nabi Azad urged Kesri to take initiative to invite Sonia Gandhi to take charge of the party. Kesri refused to accept the suggestion and accused some leaders, including Mukherjee, of hatching a conspiracy against him. He then left the meeting.” Pranab revealed
On meeting Bal Thackeray despite Sonia’s disapproval (2012):
“I took a decision to meet Thackeray despite Sonia Gandhi’s disapproval because I felt that the man who had broken away from his traditional coalition partner to support my candidature, should not feel humiliated,” Mr. Mukherjee said in his book. With this incident he revealed he followed his heart at times rather than blindly following Sonia.
On bouncing back of Congress in future:
Being a staunch congress man, it is expected of him. Pranab remarked, “Although Sonia and Manmohan hinted the situation was critical, Congress leaders, who met me, assessed that they would get 160-170 seats and gave BJP around 180. Surprisingly, Piyush Goyal told me that BJP was not going to get less than 260 and he was nearest to the mark.” Also, he added Don’t write off Congress…the 132-year old party will bounce back.”
