Updated: December 15, 2020 7:00:50 pm
The former president and former leader of Congress died on August 31 at the age of 84, after complications from COVID-19 (Express photo by Renuka Puri).
A book, “The Presidential Years,” by the late former President Pranab Mukherjee, due to be published in January next year, saw discussions between his son Abhijit Mukherjee and his daughter Sharmishtha Mukherjee, both members of the Congress party.
While Abhijeet, in a tweet, asked the editor, Rupa, to stop the publication of the memoirs and the “motivated excerpts” without his written consent, Mukherjee’s daughter, on the other hand, asked her brother not to believe ” unnecessary obstacles “.
“I, the Son of the author of the Memoirs Presidential memoirs I ask you to stop the publication of the memoirs, as well as motivated excerpts that are already floating on certain media platforms without my written consent, ”said Abhijit, a former congressional deputy, in a tweet.
@kapish_mehra @Rupa_Libros
I, the Son of the author of the Memory “The Presidential Memories” ask you to kindly stop the publication of the memory, as well as motivated excerpts that are already floating on certain media platforms without my written consent.– Abhijit Mukherjee (@ABHIJIT_LS) December 15, 2020
“Since my father no longer exists, being me his son, I want to review the content of the final copy of the book before its publication, as I believe, if my father had been alive today, he would have done the same too,” he tweeted. . As a son, Abhijit said he asked editors to stop publishing immediately.
In response, Sharmishtha said that his father completed the manuscript before he fell ill and the final draft of the book contained his father’s handwritten notes and comments that had been strictly adhered to.
I, daughter of the author of the memoirs ‘The presidential years’, ask my brother @ABHIJIT_LS so as not to create unnecessary obstacles in the publication of the last book written by our father. Completed manuscript before getting sick 1/3
– Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 15, 2020
“The final draft contains my father’s handwritten notes and comments that have been strictly adhered to. The opinions expressed by him are his own and no one should try to prevent him from being posted for cheap advertising. That would be the biggest detriment to our deceased father, ”he said in a tweet. He also corrected his brother, saying that the title of the book was “The Presidential Years” and not “The Presidential Memoirs.”
The memoirs made headlines recently for Pranab Mukherjee’s critical comments on Congress, including his observation that the party lost political focus after his elevation as president.
“Some members of Congress have theorized that if I had become prime minister in 2004, the party could have avoided the 2014 Lok Sabha beating. Although I do not subscribe to this view, I believe that the party leadership lost the political focus after my rise as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle party affairs, Dr. Singh’s long absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs, ”Mukherjee had written.
“While Dr. Singh was concerned about saving the coalition, which affected governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen in the bitter relationship between the government, the legislature and the judiciary. Only time will tell if there will be a better understanding of these issues in the second term of this government. “
In the third volume of his memoirs, The Coalition Years, Mukherjee had revealed that he believed that it could have been the Congressional election for Prime Minister even in 2012. Mukherjee passed away on August 31 at the age of 84. The book is scheduled to be released globally in January 2021.
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