Congress lost political focus after my elevation as President: Pranab Mukherjee in his memoir

Pranab Mukherjee, the former president who died on August 31, believed that the Congress party had lost political focus after his elevation as the President and if he had become the Prime Minister in 2004, the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle could have been averted. 

In his memoir “The Presidential Years” that was completed before his death, Mukherjee said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi was “unable to handle” party affairs and former PM Dr Manmohan Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs. 

The observations of Congress by Mukherjee, who died after COVID-19 complications, come at a time of intense internal turmoil in the party. The memoir will be published by Rupa in January. 

“Some members of the Congress have theorized that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don’t subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party’s leadership lost political focus after my elevation as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr (Manmohan) Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs,” Mukherjee wrote. 

The former president wrote, “I believe that the moral authority to govern vests with the PM. The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration.”

While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, (Narendra) Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature, and the judiciary.”

Talking about the second term of the Modi government, Mukherjee wrote, “Only time will tell if there is a better understanding on such matters in the second term of this government,” according to a statement by Rupa. 

Mukherjee was the 13th President of India after having spent five decades in politics.