Son and daughter clash with Pranab Mukherajee on his upcoming book

Former President Pranab Mukherjee's son and Lok Sabha MP Abhijeet Mukherjee on Tuesday objected to the publication of his father's memoir 'The Presidential Years'.

He has demanded to see the manuscript before publishing this book. However, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, the daughter of Pranab Mukherjee i.e. Abhijeet Mukherjee, has denied her brother's objection.

Sharmistha said that the manuscript of the book was finalized by his father while he was alive. Sharmistha said that this book should not be stopped from being published for cheap popularity.

Pranab Mukherjee died on 31 August this year. The book is scheduled to be published in January next year.

On December 11, publisher Roopa Books released excerpts from the book. According to this excerpt, the late President Pranab Mukherjee has written that after he became President, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were busy in saving the government, in which the political focus of the Congress was shattered.

Along with this, according to this part of the book, Pranab Mukherjee has described Narendra Modi's first term as autocratic.

"I am the son of the author of the memoir The Presidential Years," Abhijeet Mukherjee wrote, tagging the book's publisher Roopa Books and its head Kapish Mehra. You are requested to stop the publication of the book. Along with this, stop releasing parts of this book that have already been given to the media. Portions of the book have been published without my written consent.

Son and daughter clash

Abhijeet Mukherjee says that the part of the book which was released in the media is inspired by politics.

Abhijeet Mukherjee has also sent a formal letter to Rupa Books in this matter. In this letter, Abhijeet Mukherjee has written, "My father has passed away and I want to see the full text before the book is published, being his son." I believe that if my father were alive, he would have done the same. Therefore, I request you not to print till I see the whole part of the book and do not give written consent. ''

However, Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmishtha Mukherjee has rejected her brother's objection. Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted, "My father's handwritten note is also attached to the final draft of the book. In it, he has written that he is firm about the content included in his book. They are objecting based on their personal opinion and no one should try to stop the book from publishing to gain cheap popularity. This would be the biggest disrespect for my late father. ''

Sharmistha Mukherjee has tagged brother Abhijeet Mukherjee in his tweet.

When the top leadership of the Congress is facing criticism from within itself for losing many elections, in such a situation, the book of veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee can make it more difficult. According to the excerpt from the book released from the publisher, Pranab Mukherjee has accused Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the defeat of the Congress in the 2014 general election.

Pranab Mukherjee has said, "Some Congress leaders believed that if I had become Prime Minister in 2004, the Congress would not have lost the elections in 2014. Although I do not agree with this view. I believe that after making me President, the political focus of the party leadership was shattered. Sonia Gandhi could not handle the party properly. On the other hand, Manmohan Singh had been missing from the House for a long time and lost contact with MPs.

Congress defeat analysis

Before becoming President in 2012, Pranab Mukherjee was a minister in almost every Congress government. Mukherjee in his book has analyzed the Congress' defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

In this book, Mukherjee has written, "I believe that the Prime Minister has the moral right to govern. The working and governance of the Prime Minister affects the entire country. But Manmohan Singh was busy in saving the coalition and the grip on the government was loosened. The first term of the Modi government was in an autocratic style. Its effect was seen in the judiciary and legislature as well.

Pranab Mukherjee was hospitalized after Kovid became infected. During this time, he had brain surgery but could not be saved and he died on 31 August at the age of 84. In 2004, when Sonia Gandhi refused to become Prime Minister, it was expected that she would make Pranab Mukherjee the PM. But Sonia Gandhi surprised Manmohan Singh by selecting him.

This was the same Manmohan Singh, whose appointment letter for the post of Governor of the Reserve Bank of India was signed by Pranab Mukherjee as Finance Minister during the reign of Indira Gandhi. Pranab Mukherjee never publicly opposed the appointment of Manmohan Singh as his prime minister at one time. Pranab worked in every important post except the Prime Minister in his nearly 50 years of political life.

In 2017, the Modi government honored Pranab Mukherjee with the country's highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna.