The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Ups And Downs Of Pranab Da’s Relationship With The Grand Old Party

Mukherjee, then union finance minister and key trouble-shooter for UPA government led by prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, had said that he will not be in the next cabinet if the then Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi becomes prime minister.

An old picture: Congress Party President and Chairperson of the UPA government, Sonia Gandhi (R) speaks with (then) Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. | AFP Picture

In an interview to India Today’s Editor M J Akbar in 2010, Pranab Mukherjee had predicted that he would not see himself serving under Rahul Gandhi. Mukherjee, then union finance minister and key trouble-shooter for UPA government led by prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, had said that he will not be in the next cabinet if the then Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi becomes prime minister. "My goodness, what would be my age? I am already 75. There is a limit beyond which you cannot go. Rather, I have overstayed my wicket," Mukherjee had said. He held a unique distinction of working with four Congress prime ministers – Indira, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh. In his political life spread over decades, Mukherjee had rather chequered ties with Gandhis. For Sanjay and Indira, he remained a trusted and ‘go-to’ person while with Rajiv and Sonia, his ties saw many highs and lows. In the second part of his memoirs, “The Turbulent Years” (1980-1996) by Rupa Publications, Mukherjee made several carefully nuanced comments about Rajiv Gandhi that explained his rather formal ties with Sonia and Rajiv in contrast to open-heart praise, adulation for Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. Always measured, Mukherjee who rose to be President of the Republic and recipient of Bharat Ratna, talked about Rajiv Gandhi carefully, “It is true that no one is perfect. Rajiv had been criticised for his excessive reliance on some close friends and advisers who installed a so-called ‘babalog’ government. Some of them turned out to be fortune seekers.” His restrained ties with Rajiv perhaps explains why Sonia never entirely trusted him to consider him for the post of union home minister or prime minister. But 10, Janpath insiders always insist that Sonia had healthy regard for Mukherjee and greatly valued his inputs. When Sonia had taken over as Congress chief in 1998, she had got upset to learn that former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao made a submission before the Constitution review panel set up by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime under Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah and consisted of known Sonia baiter of that era, namely P.A. Sangma. Fearing ‘foul play’, the Congress had decided to boycott the panel’s meetings. Sonia was, therefore, upset when she learnt that Rao made a submission before the panel. However, instead of issuing any statement against Rao, Sonia turned to Mukherjee and dispatched the veteran leader to gauge Rao’s mood. The Chanakya of Indian politics told Mukherjee that he had done nothing wrong. He had gone to clear Indira Gandhi’s name in the context of the accession of Sikkim. Rao had apparently told the panel that it was grossly wrong to view Indira’s move to induct Sikkim as an Indian state as one that had played havoc with constitutional provisions. Sonia quickly gave Rao a clean chit, saying she had always held him in high regard and her mother-in-law, too, had had a great regard for Rao. In his autobiography, Mukherjee had recalled an incident that occurred during the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Board which selected candidates for the 1984 general elections. “The nomination of the incumbent Lok Sabha members, Kamal Nath from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh and Professor Nirmla Kumari Shaktawat from Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, was opposed by some people close to Rajiv, including Arun Nehru. I strongly protested and insisted on their nomination. The vehemence of my protest perhaps displeased Rajiv, who repeatedly said, ‘Reserve it for the consideration of the President’—meaning himself.” Mukherjee said after Sanjay Gandhi’s death, there was a ‘Rajiv Lao’ campaign but he did not actively campaign. “I took the position that he was most welcome but it was for him to decide,” observed Mukherjee. Mukherjee then went on to quote from T.N. Ninan’s interview of Rajiv taken in May 1986 to indicate why he was expelled from the Congress. He quoted Rajiv as saying, “I thought a few people were going beyond the limits of normal… what should I say… freedom of action within the democratic processes of the party, especially when elections in the party are due [,] so that all the feelings could be vented in the election process. So we took some action.” Mukherjee too had given an interview in April 1986 to journalist Pritish Nandy, Editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India. The magazine carried a twelve-page story titled ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ which created a furore in political circles. The report implied that Mukherjee knew something which would harm the party. Mukherjee quotes verbatim from Ninan asking Rajiv: TNN: Did Pranab overestimate his real strength and therefore, become a fall guy, because he is prominent and he doesn’t really have a following? So if you pick on him you get the message across? Rajiv : We picked the four or five people who we thought were making... trying to destabilise the party... who were going beyond the limits of democratic freedom in the party. And we took action. There is no...sort...of...further motivation than that. Mukherjee said when he was expelled from the Congress on 26th April 1986, nobody from the party leadership had bothered to inform him. About Sanjay, Mukherjee showers lavish praise and quotes extensively from media reports that showed Sanjay in good light. “No one can fault the intentions guiding Sanjay’s decisions—whether these pertained to population control, tackling illiteracy or afforestation. His ideas were good, and all targeted at bringing about positive change. And, as someone who knew him well and worked with him for six years of his political life, I was privy to many of his positive virtues...” It may have been a mere coincidence that when Mukherjee’s memoirs were released by the then vice president Hamid Ansari, Sonia, Rahul, Dr Manmohan Singh and a large number of other influential party leaders stayed away. From the party’s side, there was Dr Karan Singh and P.J. Kurian. The third part of Mukherjee's memoirs "Coalition Years 1996-2012" (Rupa Publications) was a delightful recollection and an authentic account of country's politics particularly during the UPA years. However, like most autobiographical accounts, Mukherjee's version of events and personalities was subjective and often lacks accurate portrayal. For instance, his reluctance to join Manmohan Singh government in May 2004 appeared to be an afterthought. This vital piece of information was invisible when Sonia Gandhi had declined and Manmohan was named to be the prime minister of UPA around May 17th 2004 evening. Mukherjee was actually multi-tasking at that point of time - first trying to persuade Sonia to 'honour' 2004 mandate,, then bring in alliance partners on board, firm up ties with the Left parties and prepare numerous drafts that ranged from letters to Rashtrapati Bhawan, allies and provide inputs for Sonia Gandhi's central hall speech. He was going about it clinically like a seasoned Congress manager. It's worth recalling how Mukherjee had performed similar duties in 1991 when P V Narasimha Rao was being sworn in. Legend has it that Mukherjee had even prepared a list of probable ministers for Rao's benefit. However, when the final list came out, Mukherjee's name was missing from the large contingent of ministers who took oath of office and secrecy. As an insider, Mukherjee was privy to lot of information and developments in the grand old party. In 1999 when Vajpayee government fell by one vote and an unsuccessful bid for an alternative government was made, Sonia had Manmohan in the reserve bench. This aspect had agitated two persons much more than Mukherjee. Madhavrao Scindia hated it most. His administrative acumen, personal charisma and proximity to Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia was utterly disregarded by 10 Janpath. The other aggrieved soul was Arjun Singh, a maverick in popular perception, but a Sonia loyalist who had sacrificed his otherwise promising political career fighting Sonia's proxy battle against Rao. As a veteran, Mukherjee should have known that when Sonia discounted Scindia and Arjun, his chances of making a cut were nil. It was elementary to know why Manmohan was chosen in 2004 ahead of Mukherjee and Arjun Singh (Scindia was by then dead). After P V Narasimha Rao experiment, 10 Janpath was wary of appointing a politician among politicians to be the Congress prime minister heading a coalition. Though Sonia was officially not in politics and played little role in Rao's appointment as Congress president and prime minister after Rajiv Gandhi assassination, she was alive to the games Rao and his team had played that ranged from tinkering with core principles of secularism, socialism, probity in public life and handling of the Congress organisation. She did not want a ghost of that era during UPA years. In that sense, denial of prime minister's chair was not a reflection on Mukherjee but her general distrust towards the political tribe. Manmohan, on the other hand, proved exceptional. For ten long years, the prime minister consciously avoided building a coterie of favourites. He didn't even toy with the idea of contesting Lok Sabha polls from Jallandhar even though Badals and Akalis were prepared to support him on informal basis. As prime minister, Manmohan appointed and removed ministers dutifully in recognition of the fact that political leadership was with Sonia. She was the vote-catcher and leader of the Congress. One may have disdain for such an approach but that's how it was. A word about Mukherjee lamenting exit of Trinamul from UPA in the second phase. It must be remembered that entire Mamata story during 1990s including her exit from the Congress has many elements and characters. Everyone knows how the likes of Somen Mitra and others were backed & propped up to drive Mamata out of the Congress. Mukherjee and Mamata may have subsequently bought peace but history and sequence of events can't be altered as per one's convenience. [Author-Journalist Rasheed Kidwai is a visiting Fellow of the Observer Research Foundation. He tracks government and politics and considered a specialist on Congress party affairs.] Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and views of ABP News Network Pvt Ltd.