In ‘The Presidential Years’, former President Pranab Mukherjee had written about why India needs more frequent interactions between the executive and the judiciary.
The late ex-president has criticised PM Modi for being ‘autocratic’ in his newly-released memoir. He also said Congress wouldn’t have faced drubbing if he was in active politics.
In episode 647 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta says India must stop digging the hole and rethink its decision to appeal the rulings against retrospective tax.
Pranab Mukherjee's memoir 'The Presidential Years' is set for a January release. His daughter Sharmistha says no one should try to stop the book's publication for 'any cheap publicity'.
Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle Congress' affairs after I became President in 2012, wrote Mukherjee in his memoir that he had completed before his death last August.
The ECI needs to respond to Rahul Gandhi’s accusations professionally and transparently. Else, it will end up giving him the ammunition he is desperately seeking.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
Gen Dwivedi framed Op Sindoor not just as retaliation to Pahalgam, but as demonstration of India’s capability to fight multi-domain conflicts with integration between services & agencies.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Is this a national interest story? What has happened to print? Deadlock in collegium: CJI may retire without any appointment to SC is a far more important story about the judiciary and executive branch in perpetual clash. Apart from Hindi heartland, you do not seem interested with stories of national interest. So be it.
Mr.Shekar Gupta has not addressed the more important question: How did this woman of Italian origin acquire so much political power in India that she could gift presidency, prime ministership, or vice president’s post to whomsoever she pleased? How did an extra constitutional body like National Advisory Council interfere with government’s work for one full decade? Please do a CTC or write an article on this topic.
Rajiv read Pranab da well in the 80s itself – a traitor in the making. The problem of the Congress has been its inability to execute generational changes swiftly and smoothly – whether in AP or WB or Delhi itself. Pranab da will be remembered as a mediocre “statist” politician (Guptaji’s word) who had the opportunity but did not stop the free downfall of India’s vibrant economy – first as FM with his tax policies and then as President during Modi’s disastrous demonetisation.
Ram Jethmalani says Mr. Mukherjee was given the list of Indian account holders in Swiss banks by the German governmnet but he preferred not to disclose their names in the hope he could get some dividend from Gandhi family. In all his years, he worked more for himself and his family than for the country.
Glad to know that Saint Sonia’s choice for president was thwarted by the man who would become our 13th president.
Saint Sonia’s appointment of her cook and loan defaulter as the 12th president caused so much heartburn for Congress stalwarts who had thrown their hat in the ring.
The clash between Pranab and the Gandhis was no clash of titans but one between pygmies. Pranab like all Congressmen of his ilk lacked conviction and courage to seek approval from the voter.
The only reason he grudged MMS being selected for the post of PM was because he himself wanted to be a selected PM. For all his constitutional properiety, he had no issues with a PM not elected by the people. Just as he had no issues with India violating it’s own laws in the name of sovereignty. The truth is that Pranab like the rest of his Congress colleagues failed when it mattered most and made no small contribution to the decimation of the Congress party by his words (lack of them) and more importantly his actions.
President Pranab Mukherjee was certainly not a loser. A very touching tribute was paid to him by his daughter Ms Sharmistha after he passed away. The image which forms before my eyes is of a young child standing before a river swollen during the monsoon, which he must cross to reach school. He completed that journey and has walked a long way since. Given his pluses and minuses, he achieved a lot in life. 2. The manner in which the Congress leadership dealt with the affairs of Andhra Pradesh, the succession issue when the CM died in a chopper crash, the creation of Telangana, does not show Smt Sonia Gandhi’s political acumen in a favourable light.
Dada was a disaster as FM. May be politically, he had relevance but in general, his contribution to Indian economy as FM was hugely negative. He might have been denied is dues by Rajeev and later by Sonia but that is his issue. and not for us all as such, Modi awarded him Bharat Ratna for whatever reason ( and ahead of Narsimha Rao!) but that favor somehow exalted his stature further. Of course, he was honest, well read, articulate, a true congressman but that is all. So let us not feel let down by what he does not reveal as expected by Shekhar.
don’t know about what he thinks about himself. But in general public eyes pranab da was synonymus with respect.
he wasn’t the chamcha of a dynasty like chiddambaram’s and kamal nath’s.
Indian democracy is poorer without dada. respect for modi for appreciating his contribution with a bharat ratna. pranab da truely was/is/will be a bharat ratna.
hahaha. Does Gupta expect Shri Pranab Mukherjee to tell what he wants to hear. with a distinguish record of public service and political leader he has a right to decide what is to be said and what not. if he would have gone on to condemn the Gandhi family probably Gupta would have been happy. and that is where the difference lies. Shri Mukherjee is a thorough gentleman. hahaha
Is this a national interest story? What has happened to print? Deadlock in collegium: CJI may retire without any appointment to SC is a far more important story about the judiciary and executive branch in perpetual clash. Apart from Hindi heartland, you do not seem interested with stories of national interest. So be it.
Mr.Shekar Gupta has not addressed the more important question: How did this woman of Italian origin acquire so much political power in India that she could gift presidency, prime ministership, or vice president’s post to whomsoever she pleased? How did an extra constitutional body like National Advisory Council interfere with government’s work for one full decade? Please do a CTC or write an article on this topic.
Yeah. Retrospective is the word to know what he was.
Rajiv read Pranab da well in the 80s itself – a traitor in the making. The problem of the Congress has been its inability to execute generational changes swiftly and smoothly – whether in AP or WB or Delhi itself. Pranab da will be remembered as a mediocre “statist” politician (Guptaji’s word) who had the opportunity but did not stop the free downfall of India’s vibrant economy – first as FM with his tax policies and then as President during Modi’s disastrous demonetisation.
Ram Jethmalani says Mr. Mukherjee was given the list of Indian account holders in Swiss banks by the German governmnet but he preferred not to disclose their names in the hope he could get some dividend from Gandhi family. In all his years, he worked more for himself and his family than for the country.
Glad to know that Saint Sonia’s choice for president was thwarted by the man who would become our 13th president.
Saint Sonia’s appointment of her cook and loan defaulter as the 12th president caused so much heartburn for Congress stalwarts who had thrown their hat in the ring.
The clash between Pranab and the Gandhis was no clash of titans but one between pygmies. Pranab like all Congressmen of his ilk lacked conviction and courage to seek approval from the voter.
The only reason he grudged MMS being selected for the post of PM was because he himself wanted to be a selected PM. For all his constitutional properiety, he had no issues with a PM not elected by the people. Just as he had no issues with India violating it’s own laws in the name of sovereignty. The truth is that Pranab like the rest of his Congress colleagues failed when it mattered most and made no small contribution to the decimation of the Congress party by his words (lack of them) and more importantly his actions.
President Pranab Mukherjee was certainly not a loser. A very touching tribute was paid to him by his daughter Ms Sharmistha after he passed away. The image which forms before my eyes is of a young child standing before a river swollen during the monsoon, which he must cross to reach school. He completed that journey and has walked a long way since. Given his pluses and minuses, he achieved a lot in life. 2. The manner in which the Congress leadership dealt with the affairs of Andhra Pradesh, the succession issue when the CM died in a chopper crash, the creation of Telangana, does not show Smt Sonia Gandhi’s political acumen in a favourable light.
Dada was a disaster as FM. May be politically, he had relevance but in general, his contribution to Indian economy as FM was hugely negative. He might have been denied is dues by Rajeev and later by Sonia but that is his issue. and not for us all as such, Modi awarded him Bharat Ratna for whatever reason ( and ahead of Narsimha Rao!) but that favor somehow exalted his stature further. Of course, he was honest, well read, articulate, a true congressman but that is all. So let us not feel let down by what he does not reveal as expected by Shekhar.
pranab mukherji was one of those leaders without follwers. and another one is chidambaram.
don’t know about what he thinks about himself. But in general public eyes pranab da was synonymus with respect.
he wasn’t the chamcha of a dynasty like chiddambaram’s and kamal nath’s.
Indian democracy is poorer without dada. respect for modi for appreciating his contribution with a bharat ratna. pranab da truely was/is/will be a bharat ratna.
hahaha. Does Gupta expect Shri Pranab Mukherjee to tell what he wants to hear. with a distinguish record of public service and political leader he has a right to decide what is to be said and what not. if he would have gone on to condemn the Gandhi family probably Gupta would have been happy. and that is where the difference lies. Shri Mukherjee is a thorough gentleman. hahaha