President Mukherjee terms his exit from Cong in 1984 as a ‘fiasco’

K V Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28

President Pranab Mukherjee today promised not to write a tell-all book of memoirs and facts known to him in the course of events in the country while making some candid observations of developments during his long political life.

At the release of his second autobiography, the President recounted that his decision to float a separate party after being expelled from the Congress in 1984 was a 'fiasco'.

"Some facts are to be buried and never to be revealed... because of my conviction...that unless the government chose to make it [public], as and when, people should take it and not from somebody's account...,” President Mukherjee said after receiving the first copy of his book ‘The Turbulent Years 1980-1996’ from Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

The book, a second of his autobiographical account of events, people and personalities in Indian politics through his long association both as a witness and sometimes a participant , will be officially available to people later this week.

Referring to the event in the book, the President admitted that neither was he a mass leader in the mould of Indira Gandhi, or Congress rebels Ajoy Mukherjee or now Mamata Banerjee to strike success in politics outside the party.

On his part, Vice-President Ansari said the book was to be read repeatedly as it makes pertinent observations on nature of politics in the country, the Union and Federalism.

Complimenting the remarkable ability of the President to recall events, Ansari said the country awaits the third in the series as promised.

Earlier, former Union Minister Karan Singh said the book has four distinct flavours — Mukherjee’s assessment of political characters, including Indira Gandhi and her two sons, a commentary on events during the period, economic developments and his own ups and downs in politics, the Congress and the government.

As the jacket of the book mentions: "An insider, he (Mukherjee) sheds new light on every major political occurrence of the time – from Rajiv Gandhi's ascendance as India's Prime Minister to the emergence of P V Narasimha Rao as a leader of the nation; from Operation Bluestar to the Babri Masjid fiasco.”

Attending the brief function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan were a distinguished gathering, including senior BJP leader L K Advani, former Union ministers Karan Singh and Natwar Singh, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha P J Kurien, former CAG Vinod Rai and others.