The second volume of former President Pranab Mukherjee’s memoir, which he wrote before his death in 2020, was launched on Tuesday.
"I have had the good fortune of interacting with and studying closely several PMs of India since Independence. They were different in mannerism, charisma, style, and approach to governance. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds and some of them subscribed to widely distinct political ideologies," he has mentioned in his book.
In the book, the former President mentioned that he worked with two PMs during his presidency from 2012-2017, Dr. Manmohan Singh from July 2012 to May 2014, and Narendra Modi from May 2014 till his retirement in July 2017.
"The route to prime ministership for the two PMs I worked with was very different. Dr. Singh was offered the post by Sonia Gandhi… Modi, on the other hand, became PM through popular choice after leading the BJP to a historic victory in 2014," Mukherjee wrote.
"He (PM Modi) is a politician to the core and had been named the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate as the party went into campaign mode. He was then Gujarat’s CM and had built an image that seemed to click with the masses. He has earned and achieved the prime ministership," he added.
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In his book, the late Congress veteran mentioned the time when Sonia Gandhi declined the post of PM after the UPA won in 2004 elections as she hailed from a foreign origin.
"She had been chosen as the prime ministerial candidate by the Congress Parliamentary Party and other constituents of the UPA, but she declined the offer. The issue of her foreign origin was being heatedly debated in the public domain," Mukherjee wrote in his book.
Mukherjee said that even though she was requested by the party leaders for becoming the PM, Sonia Gandhi refused the offer and later asked to announce a party leader’s name as the next PM.
"Sonia Gandhi named Dr. Singh and others accepted her choice. He was essentially an economist, though he had spent time in government as a minister and in politics as a Rajya Sabha member. But he had determination and a strong sense of propriety. He had steely willpower, which he demonstrated during the civil nuclear deal that India finalized with the US, despite opposition from various quarters, including certain parties that supported the government from outside. He did well as a PM,” the former President wrote in praise of former PM Manmohan Singh.