Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former president of India Pranab Mukherjee said that Manmohan Singh should be conferred with Bharat Ratna. Within 15 days, Modi government has announced to Bharat Ratna award for senior socialist leader Karpoori Thakur and former deputy prime minister and BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani.
“Former prime minister Manmohan Singh has contributed a lot in improvement of Indian economy. He should be honoured with the highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna. My father has great respect for him,” Mukherjee said in the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) while talking about the book she had written about her father – Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers.
Pranab Mukherjee is also the recipient of Bharat Ratna which was given in 2019 during Modi government.Sharmistha Mukherjee said that Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh had mutual respect for each other.
“Manmohan Singh would address Pranab Mukherjee as Sir even when he was the Prime Minister,” Sharmistha said.
The professional relationship of Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh dates back to early 80's. As finance minister Mukherjee has signed the appointment letter of Manmohan Singh as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, who remained in the post from September 1982 to January 1985.
When Manmohan Singh became Prime Minsiter in 2004, Pranab Mukherjee was first handled various ministries in Singh's ten-year tenure. He was made external affairs minsiter followed by defence and finance minister and then finally was elected as the President of India.
Sharmistha Mukherjee said that his father Pranab Mukherjee was the blind follower of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. She said that he respected Indira Gandhi so much that he would even wear clothes after asking her.
“When my father became minister, Indira Gandhi told him to swear suit instead of dhoti kurta. Indira Gandhi didn't like the accent (Bengali) in which Pranab Mukherjee used to speak English. She had asked him to learn the language afresh. But my father declined this saying that his pronunciation is like that only,” Mukherjee shared.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
