Pranab Mukherjee was rated the “best Finance Minister of the world” in 1984 by Euromoney magazine. Twenty-five years on, he is the Congress party’s most effective troubleshooter and political negotiator. If the word rebel is occasionally associated with his name, it is more a result of a quirk of fate than of any aggressive act on his part.
Pranab Mukherjee was in the reckoning for the PM’s post in 1984 after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. According to party sources, he made the mistake of suggesting to Rajiv Gandhi that the seniormost member of the Cabinet (meaning Mukherjee himself) should step into the breach. That spelt his doom. Rajiv dropped him from his Cabinet and banished him from the party.
Mukherjee formed his own political party, Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, only to merge it with the Congress in 1989 after a rapprochement with Rajiv.
The ubiquitous Mukherjee held key Central portfolios like Finance, Commerce, Steel and Mines, and External Affairs from the 1970s to 1996. He got his break in politics when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969. He was re-elected four times. Though Mukherjee is considered indispensable in the party for his skills as a fire-fighter and a super-talented administrator, he has not been given the opportunity to reach the top.
This story about his exclusion from Rajiv's Cabinet props up whenever his name is considered for a senior assignment. He once stood in for Manmohan Singh when the PM had a coronary bypass surgery. But Mukherjee did not get to discharge many prime ministerial functions. On Republic Day, Vice-President Hamid Ansari gave away the bravery awards, while Defence Minister AK Antony performed PM duties.
However, many within the party assert that Mukherjee never staked his claim for prime ministership. It is said Indira liked the fact that he had no mass base – that ensured that while he was sharp-witted enough to be an effective crisis manager he posed no threat to her. So, she always gave him plum assignments. Sonia continues to do just that to this day.
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Pranab Mukherjee was in the reckoning for the PM’s post in 1984 after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. According to party sources, he made the mistake of suggesting to Rajiv Gandhi that the seniormost member of the Cabinet (meaning Mukherjee himself) should step into the breach. That spelt his doom. Rajiv dropped him from his Cabinet and banished him from the party.
Mukherjee formed his own political party, Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, only to merge it with the Congress in 1989 after a rapprochement with Rajiv.
The ubiquitous Mukherjee held key Central portfolios like Finance, Commerce, Steel and Mines, and External Affairs from the 1970s to 1996. He got his break in politics when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969. He was re-elected four times. Though Mukherjee is considered indispensable in the party for his skills as a fire-fighter and a super-talented administrator, he has not been given the opportunity to reach the top.
This story about his exclusion from Rajiv's Cabinet props up whenever his name is considered for a senior assignment. He once stood in for Manmohan Singh when the PM had a coronary bypass surgery. But Mukherjee did not get to discharge many prime ministerial functions. On Republic Day, Vice-President Hamid Ansari gave away the bravery awards, while Defence Minister AK Antony performed PM duties.
However, many within the party assert that Mukherjee never staked his claim for prime ministership. It is said Indira liked the fact that he had no mass base – that ensured that while he was sharp-witted enough to be an effective crisis manager he posed no threat to her. So, she always gave him plum assignments. Sonia continues to do just that to this day.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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