Pranab Mukherjee | A seasoned politician and a refined statesman

Mukherjee’s humble origin from Mirati village, in West Bengal, and philosophical moorings ensured that his ambitions always remained tempered to realities and he viewed his public innings with content. So much so that once he was chosen as United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate for the post of President in 2012, he acknowledged that he had been “more than compensated by his elevation” to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

For a quintessential Congressman who had a conservative approach, Pranabda, as he was fondly called, did nurture a ‘hurt’ that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi overlooked his credentials and picked Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister in 2004.

Not that he was surprised by her decision, but that he felt his past differences with late Rajiv Gandhi had, perhaps, cost him. Mukherjee, however, was quick to reconcile and work earnestly with Singh, who was much junior to him in public life.

Regret. Justified.

When Sonia Gandhi selected him to be Congress’ nominee to be the 13th President (2012-17), Mukherjee went on record to declare that he had no regrets of not becoming Prime Minister, saying Singh is one of the “finest persons” and a worthy one to occupy that position.

Mukherjee also underlined that the post of President was such that it should not be “sought” but “offered.” Singh, later speaking while launching Mukherjee’s memoir 'The Coalition Years: 1996-2012’ said Mukherjee’s ‘regret’ was justified.

Both had worked together in various capacities since 1970. As finance minister back in the 1970s, Mukherjee was Singh's boss too, and later appointed him as the RBI governor. After Singh became PM, Mukherjee had to remind Singh often “to get out of the habit” of addressing him as “sir”.

The Rise During Indira Years

Mukherjee's career took off in 1969 when he was in the Bangla Congress and helped independent candidate VK Krishna Menon to win the Midnapore Lok Sabha seat in a by-election defeating the official Congress candidate. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recognised his talent and asked him to join the Congress. He became a Rajya Sabha MP that year.

Mukherjee’s proximity to Indira Gandhi grew when she was left with no able advisers in the last years of the Emergency (1975-77). He was made a minister in 1973.

In the post-Emergency era, when many Congress veterans deserted her (as she battled legal cases filed by the Janata Party government for the Emergency excesses), Mukherjee was by her side and faced charges before the Shah Commission, which was set up to probe the excesses.

In 1979, Indira Gandhi chose Mukherjee to be deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. A year later, she appointed him Leader of the House when the Congress swept back to power after the failure of the Janata Party experiment.

Mukherjee’s closeness to Indira Gandhi saw his steady rise to finally serve as Finance Minister from 1982 to 1984. The challenge was humongous for the 49-year-old Mukherjee. India had just emerged from a bitter period of inflation. His predecessor, R Venkataraman had signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for an SDR (Special Drawing Rights) of $5 billion in November-December 1981. A prudent Mukherjee went about fixing the ills of the economy, finally ensuring India not withdrawing a $1.1 billion instalment of the IMF loan. It was a feather in the cap of Indira Gandhi who could then drive home that her return as PM had saved the country from an economic collapse.

The Low Point

However, her assassination in 1984 came as a huge setback for Mukherjee’s career. He was then travelling with Rajiv Gandhi (who was a Congress general secretary) in West Bengal when the news came in. The story goes thus: while Rajiv Gandhi was anxious to know about the condition of his mother, Mukherjee was heard discussing with his colleagues alternative arrangements to be made to fill her place as the next Prime Minister.

In the second volume of his memoir, ‘The Turbulent Years: 1980-96’, Mukherjee rejected as “false and spiteful” stories that he aspired to be Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

That episode, nevertheless, saw Mukherjee being sidelined by Rajiv Gandhi after he became Prime Minister, dropping him from the Cabinet. The low point came when Mukherjee had to quit the Congress to form his own Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress only to later merge it with Congress in 1989 by patching up with Rajiv Gandhi.

The Revival Years

After Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991, however, Mukherjee’s political career revived when PV Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister. Rao appointed him as Planning Commission deputy chairman. Four years later, Rao elevated him into the Cabinet, first as commerce minister and then as foreign minister, the post he held till the 1996 polls, which saw the Congress lose power.

When Sonia Gandhi made her foray into politics to become Congress chief in 1998, Mukherjee emerged as an elder aide to her. She valued his vast knowledge and experience, and turned to him often for advice.

As the UPA came into power in 2004, Mukherjee swallowed his pride to be number-two in Singh’s government. He held a number of key portfolios — Defence (2004–06), External Affairs (2006–09) and Finance (2009–12) — apart from heading two dozen Groups of Ministers (GoMs).

As Finance Minister between 2009 and 2012, till he became President, Mukherjee sought to usher in tax reforms. However, his final years in the finance ministry were not considered fruitful as he faced flak for lack of policy initiatives and politics of the day seemed to overwhelm economic imperatives.

An open secret was that Mukherjee and P Chidambaram (who was very upset that he had to move out from finance to handle home in the wake of the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai) did not see eye-to-eye on many matters. In June 2011, Mukherjee wrote to Singh about adhesive-like substances recovered from his office, which might have been used to implant electronic listening devices. It was discovered when Mukherjee ordered a sweep — not by the Intelligence Bureau (which was then under Chidambaram’s control) but by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under him.

The adhesives were found in his office, in the office of his adviser Omita Paul and his private secretary Manoj Pant, as well as in the two conference halls of the finance ministry. The CBDT search did not reveal any listening device but the discovery of the glue-like substance from crucial locations suggested a possible attempt to plant bugs by his rivals.

The ‘Unapologetic’ President

Mukherjee’s years as President were also remarkable. At a function in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a "guardian and mentor" who held his finger and guided him on various subjects when he took over as Prime Minister in 2014.

In June 2018, a year after he retired from Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mukherjee became the first former President to address a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event. Despite the Congress' disapproval, Mukherjee, went to RSS HQ in Nagpur to deliver messages to the Sangh on India's history of tolerance, inclusion and pluralism.

Also for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the RSS, Mukherjee celebrating the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Mirati village every year was a show of his “unapologetic” commitment to an old Hindu tradition, unchecked by the Nehruvian brand of secularism.

He took several initiatives and democratised the institution of presidency. He did away with the honorific 'His Excellency' used to address the President. Governors of states were also encouraged to follow the practice. The protocol and security restrictions on guests invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan were relaxed to the maximum extent possible. He commuted four mercy petitions and rejected 30, second only to R Venkatraman, who rejected 45 mercy pleas. KR Narayanan and his successor Abdul Kalam came to be known for sitting on mercy petitions. Narayanan, in fact, did not act upon a single mercy petition sent to him.

In 2019, recognising his unparalleled service to the nation, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Mukherjee also created a record of sorts by becoming the first head of state to teach school children. Mukherjee also revived the tradition of using the State Landau or Buggy. It was used for the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29, 2014, for the first time after 30 years.

Shekhar Iyer is former senior associate editor of Hindustan Times and political editor of Deccan Herald. Views are personal.