'When baba passed away, Congress didn't even bother to call CWC': Pranab Mukherjee's daughter slams party leadership

According to her, a senior Congress leader claimed that condolence meetings were not held for Indian Presidents.

Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has criticised the Congress party for failing to hold a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting following her father’s passing in August 2020. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), she accused the party’s leadership of misleading her on the matter and disregarding protocol.

"When baba passed away, Congress didn’t even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. That’s utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only," Sharmistha wrote.

When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me its not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from babas diaries that on KR Narayanans death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only https://t.co/nbYCF7NsMB
Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 27, 2024

According to her, a senior Congress leader claimed that condolence meetings were not held for Indian Presidents. However, she dismissed the explanation as baseless, citing her father’s own records, which showed that such a meeting was held when former President KR Narayanan passed away.

Despite her criticism, Sharmistha Mukherjee supported the Congress’s recent appeal to the Centre for a memorial for former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 92. She also advocated for Singh to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor.

Having said that, a memorial for Dr. Singh is a great idea. He deserves it & also Bharat Ratna which baba as President wanted 2 confer on him; but that didnt happen perhaps due 2 reasons which dont need to be spelled out. https://t.co/5MhH7k5Smq pic.twitter.com/yUZCEXNMxK Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 27, 2024

"A memorial for Dr. Singh is a great idea. He deserves it & also Bharat Ratna which baba as President wanted 2 confer on him; but that didn’t happen perhaps due 2 reasons which don’t need to be spelled out," she added.

Former Prime Minister and Congress veteran Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 in New Delhi. He was admitted to the emergency department of AIIMS hospital on Thursday evening.