Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee dies: A look back at his political career

Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India died today after many days of detoriating health and illness. Here’s how his political journey developed.

Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India died today after many days of detoriating health and illness. He died at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital where he also tested positive for COVID-19.

His death is mourned by all political leaders of the country. He was a man of great clarity and thought and his death is surely a huge political loss to the country, especially the Congress.

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Remembering him, let us look back at Pranab Mukerjee’s glorious political journey-

 

Pranab da first worked as a clerk in the office of the Deputy Account General in Kolkata. His political journey started when Indira Gandhi gave him an opportunity to become a Member of Parliament. He was the one to have worked with three generations of the Gandhi family.

In the year 1973, became the minister of Industrial development in the Indira Gandhi government and then 10 years later went on to become the finance minister in 1982.

Mukherjee’s work is applauded as a finance minister. His one of the biggest achievement was when he sent back a $1.1 billion installment of the International Monetary Fund.

He did leave the party in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The reason being his continue clashes with Rajiv Gandhi. He then went on to found his own party called the Rashtriya Samajwadi Cngress. The party merged with Congress in the year 1989.

He was made the chairman of the planning commission in the year 1991 and 1995 and became the finance minister under the leadership of Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao.

He worked as the defence minister of the country and signed the 10 year defence partnership pact with the then US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.

Thus Pranb Mukherjee is the only minister to handle four ministries, which are- Commerce, Defense, External Affairs and Finance

He has also served for 23 years in the highest policy making body of the congress party which is called as the Congress Working Committee.

He was elected as the Member of Rajya Sabha for a total of five times and the Member if Lok Sabha for a total of two times.

Pranab Mukherjee was a man who wrote his own destiny and even without any political background, he stood firm and reached new heights. A man with excellent decision making capacity and a very sharp memory, he was conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 2008.

His political career teaches us to always go after what we want.