Remembering Pranab Mukherjee: A man for all seasons and a statesman | Economic Times

By AK AntonyThe sad demise of Pranab Mukherjee is a great loss to the nation. I had a very close personal relationship with him for 50 years. When I first met him along with Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, he spared nearly an hour for us. What struck me most was his razor-sharp memory. I told Dasmunsi after the meeting that Pranab Da was a rare genius and a big asset to the Congress.Another quality I found in him was the transparency in personal relationships and his contacts. He maintained very cordial relationships with leaders of all parties, shared transparent relations with most business leaders and had close association with many cultural and social leaders. Mukherjee was a man for all seasons and a statesman too.His ability to find solutions to crises was commendable. From Indira Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi, all Congress leaders used his services to sort out issues. He held almost all important portfolios in the Union Cabinet. He was one of the successful finance ministers. When he took over the ministry, our financial situation was precarious, but he was able to stabilise the economy. He also helped the UPA governments in implementing many welfare programmes.I succeeded Pranab Da as the defence minister. He took the initiative to improve India’s ties with the US and played an instrumental role in the Indo-US defence framework agreement. Even while improving our relations with the US, he maintained India’s cordial relations with Russia and tried to improve ties with China, while focusing on our defence infrastructure in the northeast. Mukherjee was the external affairs minister when the terror attack took place in Mumbai. The sentiment across the country was that we should take military action against Pakistan. Some people even suggested there should be a surgical strike against Pakistan. However, PM Manmohan Singh and Mukherjee gave the advice to the government that military action was not the first option. Mukherjee argued that we should isolate Pakistan in the international fora through diplomacy. As a result, Pakistan was isolated with all major countries supporting India and condemning Pakistan. Even the Organisation of Islamic Countries criticised Pakistan.Mukherjee was UPA government’s main crisis manager. He headed almost all cabinet sub committees and empowered committees. He was the main source of finding solutions to all kinds of problems. During the negotiations on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, he helped the government win over the support of many non-UPA parties.He was leader of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for many years. Whenever he got up to speak, the House listened in rapt attention. Even while he remained busy as a national leader, Mukherjee was a proud Bengali who admired Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. He was particular about visiting his ancestral house to perform puja as head priest during Durga Puja.After he became President, Mukherjee publicly advised the government and the country, while remaining within constitutional limits, when the nation headed towards communal polarisation and chaos after incidents of lynching. He asked the government to protect constitutional values and told the government and the people that India belonged to everybody, diversity was our strength and if diversity was overlooked India would plunge into chaos. Mukherjee’s departure is a great loss, especially when the country faces threats from Pakistan and China at the border and a deep economic crisis. (The author is former defence minister and a senior Congress leader )