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Kurnool |AUG 30th - SEP 05th| VOL 04,2020
NEWS
15 Pranab Mukherjee, a President
who could have been PM
on 01st Sept 2020,Tuesday
New Delhi: A quintessential party loyalist and the trusted Man
Friday of three Congress prime ministers, Pranab Mukherjee's
climb up the political ladder stopped just short of his ambition to
occupy 7 Race Course Road, instead sending him to the
Rashtrapati Bhavan as the country's rst citizen. Mukherjee, India's
13th president, Congress' troubleshooter through the decades
and one of the country's most respected politicians, died on
Monday after a 21-day illness and ve decades in public life. He
was 84.
A people's person till the end, 'Citizen Mukherjee' used Twitter to
communicate to the world that he had tested positive for COVID-
19 on August 10. It was his last post, and his last words to the
public.
Demonstrating his ability to quickly adapt to situations as they
arose, Mukherjee was at ease with the new mode of
communication. Twitter was a platform he used often, to express
his condolences on the death of leaders and friends, greet people
on festivals or wish them on their birthdays.
Some politicians don't fade into the background. And so it was
with the scholarly Mukherjee too. He remained a presence to
contend with even after he demitted the ofce of president, often
making headlines as he attended book launches and delivered
lectures.
It was a life of many rsts and accomplishments for the West
Bengal-born politician, famed for his encyclopaedic memory,
razor sharp intellect and deep insights into issues.
In 1982, he became India's youngest nance minister when he was
just 47. In the years that followed, he served as India's minister for
External Affairs, Defence, Finance and Commerce and was the
rst Indian president to have done so.
Mukherjee managed the rare distinction of serving three prime
ministers as minister -- Indira Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and
Manmohan Singh - ever the Congress' trusted Man Friday as it
evolved over the decades.
Mukherjee was also India's only non-prime minister who was
leader of the Lok Sabha for eight years. He was also leader of the
Rajya Sabha from 1980-85.
There were other landmarks in a remarkable political
career, which started in 1969 as a Rajya Sabha member
for the Bangla Congress which subsequently merged with
the Congress.
When he became president in 2012, Mukherjee was
heading 24 of 39 GOMs (groups of ministers). Between
2004-2012, he chaired 95 GOMs.
Mukherjee was famous in political circles as a consensus
builder. He inspired trust among leaders across the
political spectrum, an asset that proved handy at the time
of his election as president.
www.ridgeschools.org
T
H E
N e w s p a p e r F o r C h i l d r e n
Mukherjee was famous in political circles as a consensus
builder. He inspired trust among leaders across the
political spectrum, an asset that proved handy at the
time of his election as president.
It was a many splendoured political career, which ended
at the presidential palace. But the prime minister's post
eluded him, even though it was a position he openly
aspired for.
In his book "The Coalition Years", Mukherjee
acknowledged that he had hoped to get the post in May
2004 after then Congress president Sonia Gandhi
herself declined the position.
"Finally she named Dr Manmohan Singh as her choice
and he accepted. The prevalent expectation was that I
would be the next choice for prime minister after Sonia
Gandhi declined," Mukherjee wrote, admitting that he
had initially refused to join the cabinet of Manmohan
Singh who had been his junior in the past but agreed
when Sonia Gandhi insisted.
Mukherjee remained the UPA's chief crisis manager
through its tumultuous years, starting 2004 until he
became president on July 25, 2012.
Born on December 11, 1935 in the small village of Mirati
in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Mukherjee received
early lessons in life from his freedom ghter parents. His
father, a Congress leader, endured great nancial
hardship and was sent to jail several times for his role in
the freedom struggle.
The roots were strong and never forgotten, taking him
back often from the corridors of power to his village
during Durga Puja, even when he became president.
Photographs of Mukherjee, performing prayers in a
traditional dhoti, made it to the public domain through
his years as minister and president.
In 2015, he lost his wife Suvra Mukherjee. He is survived
by his two sons Indrajit and Abhijit, and daughter
Sharmistha, who was by his side during important events
of his president years.
Mukherjee, who served in the Rajya Sabha for ve terms
and in the Lok Sabha twice and was one of India's
longest serving parliamentarians, became a member of
the Congress Parliamentary Party when the Bangla
Congress merged with the Congress in 1971.
Though he occupied various positions in the government,
Mukherjee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the rst time
only in 2004 when he won from West Bengal's Jangipur
constituency. He had lost the previous two Lok Sabha
contests -- from Malda in 1977 and Bolpur in 1980.
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