Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has hit back at Sonia Gandhi for saying she was “shocked” when he hinted at wanting to become Prime Minister, asking whether it was a “crime to be ambitious”.In a note shared on X, Sharmistha defended her father’s experience and record and took a swipe at the Gandhi-Nehru family, saying he had earned his positions through hard work rather than “dynastic entitlements”.Her response came after Sonia recalled a 2010 conversation in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love. She wrote that Pranab suggested it might be time for “a change at the top”, which she understood as a hint at his desire to become Prime Minister.
Manmohan Singh held the post at the time.Pranab was among the senior-most leaders in the UPA government, holding the defence, external affairs and finance portfolios between 2004 and 2012, before becoming President. ‘IS IT A CRIME TO BE AMBITIOUS?’“What’s there to get ‘shocked’ about? Is it a crime to be ambitious, especially when that ‘ambition’ was supported by decades of experience in politics & governance, hard work & a brilliant mind?” Sharmistha wrote.She recalled once asking her father whether he wanted to become Prime Minister.
He candidly replied that “any politician worth his salt has this ambition”, she said. Sharmistha said her father came from a humble background and achieved what he did through merit and hard work. “There was no-one to serve him positions, including PM-ship, on a platter due to dynastic entitlements,” she wrote.She then questioned whether Sonia’s surprise stemmed from someone outside the Gandhi-Nehru family aspiring to the post.“If a well-deserving person harbours ambition to become Prime Minister, what’s wrong in that, unless Sonia ji was ‘shocked’ by the fact that anyone outside Gandhi-Nehru family could even dare to nurture such an ambition & furthermore dared to ‘hint’ it to her?” she asked.WHAT SONIA RECALLS IN HER MEMOIRIn her memoir, Sonia wrote that Pranab would sometimes stay back for a chat after meetings of the Congress leadership.
She recalled that he had developed serious differences with P Chidambaram.“On one occasion, in 2010, I think after expressing his frustration, he shocked me with the suggestion that perhaps it was time for a change at the top, which I understood as a hint of his long-held desire to become prime minister,” she wrote, according to PTI.“I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me,” she added.Responding to this, Sharmistha said her father’s diaries and their conversations made it clear that he held no grudge against Sonia or anyone else.“He was a pragmatic person with deep understanding. He understood her reasons & insecurities that all human beings are prone to,” she wrote.Sonia also recalled that the Congress nominated Pranab as the UPA’s presidential candidate in 2012.
After he became President, she would often visit him for conversations, describing him as an “erudite and knowledgeable politician”.- Ends