Pranab Mukherjee was a great Congress leader. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969, following which there was no turning back for him in the field of politics. He was carefully mentored by none other than the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and was elected to the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha for a total of five and two times respectively during his political career.
Mukherjee held several key cabinet portfolios such as finance, defence and external affairs in the government of India during his career. As a defence minister, he signed the new framework for India-US defence relationship in 2005. He was the external affairs minister when India signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement with the United States in 2006.
Mukherjee left the Congress party in 1986 but returned in 1989. He was instrumental in bringing Sonia Gandhi into the political centrestage. On July 25, 2012, he assemed office as the 13th President of India.
Despite belonging to an ideologically different background, he did not hesitate to attend an RSS event, where he stressed on the openness, pluralism and peaceful coexistence in the Indian society since ancient times.
He passed away on August 31, 2020. India, especially the Congress, will miss him.
Narender Kumar Sharma
Village Bhujru, Distt. Mandi
Himachal Pradesh
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