He made a mark as statesman and President

Former Maharashtra CM

THE demise of Bharat Ratna Pranab Mukherjee ends a glorious political career that spanned five decades. He contributed to all important aspects of the functioning of the Congress party as well as the government. He was one of the last Congress leaders to have worked closely with Indira Gandhi.

As the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee carried out his duties with strict adherence to the Constitution. He avoided any confrontation with the Modi government that came to power in 2014. But at the same time, he warned the government on growing intolerance and the quality of the parliamentary debate. He was never a rubber-stamp President.

Mukherjee was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969 and became a Minister of State in 1973. Ever since I got elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991, I watched him and later worked with him closely till 2010. It was a great learning experience for me.

In the 1991 elections, the Congress barely got a working majority. It was clear as to who would be the next Prime Minister. The Congress leadership decided on PV Narasimha Rao to head the new government. While forming the Cabinet, Rao consulted his long-time friend, Pranabda. We expected that Pranabda would become the Finance Minister. But the choice of Dr Manmohan Singh as the new FM came as a complete surprise. Rao decided to make Pranabda Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He was shocked to hear this, and was naturally not keen as it signalled the end of an active political career. Pranabda told PM Rao that he would think about it. Rao replied, “Think as long as you want to, but join on Monday morning.” Rao told him that he would talk later about why Pranabda was not included in the Cabinet, but it never happened.

In 1993, he was made the Minister of Commerce, but also continued in the Planning Commission. At that time, the whole world was discussing GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and the proposed new structure of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He wanted India to become a member of the WTO to be part of the global trading system. But there was hostility towards the WTO in the country. There were fears of increase in the drug prices due to the proposed intellectual property rights regime. But with his extraordinary negotiating skills, he got the best deal for India and other developing countries. India formally became a member of the WTO in 1995 under his stewardship.

The Indo-US nuclear deal was the crowning success of Dr Manmohan Singh’s first term as PM. India and the US were working closely to lift the ban on the former’s nuclear trade with the rest of the world so as to enable India to import uranium fuel for its civilian nuclear power. Dr Manmohan Singh visited the US in July 2005 and signed the first outline of the historic Indo-US civil nuclear agreement along with President Bush. I was part of this delegation. For the next three years, the Indian Parliament and the US Congress worked tirelessly to get the agreement ratified. It was felt that Parliament should unanimously ratify the agreement. For that, the Left parties had to come on board. That task was left to Pranabda. A coordination committee of the UPA-I government and leaders of the Left parties was set up under Mukherjee’s chairmanship. I was the convener of the committee. His superb negotiating skills, the ability to win the trust of political opponents and his deep understanding of international affairs helped us get the Left’s support. In 2010, I piloted the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill. At that time, all meetings with the Opposition leaders were held in Pranabda’s office. It was his guidance that helped us get the Bill passed unanimously. Mukherjee was the clear number two in Dr Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet. At one time, he chaired about 95 Groups of Ministers (GoMs).

Pranabda saw many ups and downs. He was once thrown out of the Congress. He formed a regional party. The experiment flopped. Soon, he rejoined the Congress. He was left out of the Union Cabinet in 1991. But he survived. His command over English, his sharp drafting skills, his elephantine memory, thorough understanding of national and international affairs, and his mastery of the parliamentary procedures ensured his number two place in the Cabinet. He was a keen student of modern history of India as well as the Congress. When I was the general secretary of the party, Congress president Soniaji would often ask me to discuss various issues with him. He would invariably call me after 8 pm, and these discussions would often last for a few hours. I learned a lot from them.

Pranabda was the Finance Minister in the cabinets of Indiraji and Manmohan Singh. He was the only FM to have present Budgets before and after the 1991 liberalisation policy. During his first tenure as FM, Exim Bank and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) were set up. In 2009, his astute decisions and stimulus packages helped Indian economy withstand the global economic meltdown.

After Ashok Chavan’s resignation as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in November 2010, Sonia Gandhi sent Pranabda and AK Antony as observers to select the new CM. After discussions with the MLAs, Pranabda reported to Soniaji. At 3 am, I received a call from her asking me to be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Pranabda played an important role in my becoming the CM.

As the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee carried out his duties with strict adherence to the Constitution. He avoided any confrontation with the Modi government that came to power in 2014. But at the same time, he warned the government on growing intolerance, the quality of the parliamentary debate and the threat to constitutional and democratic values. He was never a rubber-stamp President. His demise is a great loss to Indian polity and the Congress. It marks the end of an era.