Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter takes ‘real rot’ jibe at Congress: ‘Why no CWC…’
Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former president Pranab Mukherjee, alleged that the Congress party is in a “sad state of affairs” and called for “serious introspection”.
she also alleged that party workers feel alienated from its top leadership due to the “current state of affairs” and the lack of an “ideology” among top Congress leaders.
Compares CWC meeting
Mukherjee said that the party did not convene a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting to condole her father’s death in August 2020. CWC is the party’s highest decision-making body.
“The Congress has to answer for this. I can only state the fact. But I would like to just add, I do not know whether it was deliberate or sheer negligence. What are the conventions in such a grand old party?” she asked.
“If there is this loss of institutional memory, if Rahul Gandhi and the people around him do not know how the Congress acted in these earlier situations, that itself is a serious and sad state of affairs within the Congress,” she added.
Earlier, in a post on X, she said, “When baba passed away, Congress didn’t even bother to call CWC for a condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done for Presidents. That’s utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on K R Narayanan’s death, CWC was called and condolence msg was drafted by baba only”.
The former president’s daughter also alleged relentless trolling by the Congress’ social media handles over issues she raised over the years.
“The kind of language that was used on me and one of the tallest leaders like my father shows that there is a real rot in the Congress,” Mukherjee said.
“The Congress, rather than unleashing trolls on social media, should do serious introspection that why a person like me who believed in the hardcore Congress ideology, today feels alienated by the party,” she added.
Mukherjee’s statement comes after the Congress CWC convened a special meeting on Friday to pay its respects to former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
“Dr. Singh embodied the very best qualities of a true statesman — compassion, honesty, and a deep commitment to public service. His life was a living example of how grace and humility can coexist with great power,” the CWC resolution noted.
On memorial row
Mukherjee refused to comment on the controversy over setting up a memorial for Singh as she is no longer a member of the party.
“I think the demand to have a memorial for Manmohan Singh is absolutely justified. He was the architect of economic reforms in India, he was the father of India’s growth story, he was a two-time prime minister. So the demand for a memorial in his honour is absolutely justified. Also, on behalf of the ordinary citizens of India, I demand Bharat Ratna for him, he thoroughly deserves it,” Mukherjee said.
