New Delhi: Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, said that her father was dropped from the cabinet because former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had some ‘trust deficit’ over him rising as a challenge to his authority.
Mukherjee also cited the notes of her father where he stated that Rajiv Gandhi considered him a “tough nut” who wouldn’t “tow anybody’s line blindly”.
She made the remarks at the book launch event of her book titled ‘Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers’ based on the life of her father.
Speaking to ANI, Mukherjee said, “What Rajiv Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi felt about my father, that only they will be able to say. But as per my father’s own analysis perhaps there was a degree of trust deficit and that was the reason he wrote in his notes that “Rajiv probably felt I am a tough nut who will not tow anybody’s line blindly”.”
“So, perhaps he felt that this was the reason he was dropped from the cabinet. Later on, Sonia Gandhi also might have felt that one day he might have challenged their authority,” he added.
Mukherjee cited several colleagues of her father who also opined that Pranab Mukherjee could have emerged as a ‘challenger’ to the authority of Rajiv Gandhi.
“This was also said by one of the very senior cabinet colleagues of Baba (Pranab Mukherjee) both in Indira ji, Rajiv ji’s times…they felt that one day he could emerge as a challenge to Rajiv Gandhi’s authorities…and that’s why he was dropped out of the cabinet,” she further stated.
