Pranab Mukherjee worked closely with Indira, Dhirubhai Ambani got Bharat Ratna from Modi regime

Sonia agreed to make Pranab Prez reluctantly 

With great sadness, the nation receives the news of the unfortunate demise of our former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee.   I join the country in paying homage to him. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends.

- Rahul Gandhi

LK Advani, PM Modi condole Pranab Mukherjee's death

"Pranab Da was known and respected for his sharp, analytical mind and was someone who believed in the necessity of dialogue and cooperation among people of various ideological and political backgrounds. His own reflective nature, combined with his long and varied experience in public life, made him a statesman who was admired by people across the political spectrum.

To me personally, he was more than a colleague and we have shared valuable moments both inside and outside of our public lives, which extended even to our families. The memories of various lunches we shared together will always be special in my heart." -- LK Advani

#PranabMukherjee ...full cycle...worked closely with Indira Gandhi, Dhirubhai Ambani, fought with Rajiv Gandhi, came back to Congress became No. 2 under P V Narasimha Rao, Sitaram kesri, Sonia Gandhi. 

Fought with Chidambaram for being 'spied' when Chidambaram was Home Minister. 

He almost resigned; met the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh overseas itself and registered strong protest.

In 2012 he almost missed Presidentship. Mamata and Mulayam Singh came together and even proposed the names of Manmohan Singh and Somnath Chatterjee as new man for Rashtrapati Bhawan. But he finally got it after a contest against a former Congressman P A Sangma.

A die-hard opponent of BJP, ironically he received Bharat Ratna from Namo regime and post-retirement also addressed a RSS meet. 

Indira Gandhi once said ..if u hit on #PranabMukherjee's head...smoke from his pipe would come but no secrets...

Born in 1935...#PranabMukherjee saw many chapters of India unraveling....he held key positions...President...Finance Minister, Defence and External Affairs...but missed 'Home portfolio' .

In Parliamentary matters, he was an encyclopedia, expert on multiple issues. 

Namo condoles Pranab Da's demise!


"India grieves the passing away of Bharat Ratna Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation. A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society."

Former deputy prime minister and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani in 2018 lauded former president Pranab Mukherjee’s address at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur as a “significant event in our country’s contemporary history.”

In a statement, Mr. Advani has said Mukherjee’s visit to the RSS headquarters despite his decades of association with the Congress was a reflection of his “grace and goodwill.”“It was an illuminating exposition of the noble idea and ideals of Indian nationalism,” Mr. Advani said, describing Mr. Mukherjee’s address.As a lifelong “swayamsevak” of the RSS, Mr. Advani, he believed that Mukherjee and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat “have truly set a praiseworthy example of dialogue transcending ideological affiliations and differences.”

In January 2019, Modi Govt decided about Bharat Ratna for Pranab Mukherjee

Political calculus in Modi's decisions on Bharat Ratna for Pranab along with Bhupen Hazarika and Nanaji Deshmukh

In general, the decision on Bharat Ratna awardees are taken by the incumbent Prime Minister, who communicates it to the President informally and the announcement is made by the President.
The established norm is that the Prime Minster can recommend only three names for a year.

In terms of decisions for conferring the award to Pranab Mukherjee, the BJP admirers linked to 'political wisdom' of Prime Minister and also to give a message that he has tried to remain apolitical in his decision to select this year's award winners.


"All throughout his life, Pranab Mukherjee has been a Congressman opposed to BJP and RSS politics. But by this decision, Mr Modi has shown that some decisions ought to be taken rising above party politics. Congress regimes in 60 years never entertained the idea of conferring such awards to non Congress leaders. But Modi government is different," Virendra Sachdeva of BJP's Good Governance cell told me.

He further said: "Look at the irony Congress did not make Pranab babu the Prime Minister, but today justice has been done to Bengal's one of the tallest leaders of our time".