Former President Pranab Mukherjee wrote in his diary that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is a leader who understands the pulse of the people, according to his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee.
Speaking about the note, Sharmistha said her father had cited Modi’s outreach after the major floods in Kashmir, recalling that the Prime Minister celebrated Diwali in the region that year. She also said Modi had earlier marked the festival at Siachen, and then in Kashmir the following year.
Sharmistha added that Pranab Mukherjee had praised Modi for quickly grasping India’s foreign policy. She also recalled her father’s long-held view that the strength of democracy lies in dialogue, referring to her own discomfort when he visited the RSS office despite her deep involvement in the Congress.
According to her, when she argued that his visit was being seen as granting legitimacy to the RSS, Pranab Mukherjee responded sharply that it was not for him to confer legitimacy, but for the people of India. She said her father and Modi shared a warm relationship even before Modi became Gujarat Chief Minister, and that they would sometimes meet during morning walks when Modi came to Delhi as an RSS worker.
Pranab Mukherjee, a senior Congress leader, served as President of India from 2012 to 2017. He administered the oath of office to Modi when he became Prime Minister in 2014.
