New Delhi: An upcoming book authored by late former President Pranab Mukherjee has become talk of the town, as it contains his critique on Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi especially in regard to Congress drubbing in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The memoir titled ‘The Presidential Years’ that be released globally in January 2021 comes months after the demise of the former President.
In last volume of memoirs, Pranab has written that Congress leadership lost political focus after his elevation as President in 2012 and Sonia Gandhi was “unable to handle the affairs of the party”.
“Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition which took a toll on governance”, he reportedly writes in memoir. According to excerpts from the book released by Rupa Publications, Mukherjee also said Dr Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to the personal contact with other MPs.
Congress registered its worst-ever performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and has suffered several electoral setbacks in the last six years.
Mukherjee died in August this year. The book will be the fourth volume of his memoirs.
“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 Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs,” says the book.
Pranab’s views on PM Modi, as he wrote in memoir
He has also written that overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the Prime Minister and his administration.
“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, 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. Only time will tell if there is a better understanding on such matters in the second term of this government,” he writes.
The book will also recount the journey of a Congress veteran, right from his childhood days in a remote Bengal village to walking the ramparts of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
