Will Dada’s ‘ Red Book’ of secrets go with him?
A ‘ veteran insider’ in corridors of power Treasure trove of political secrets, he was avid diary writer
A magazine once described him as “the man who knew too much”. Former President Pranab Mukherjee was the “veteran insider” in the corridors of power. The man, who apparently had “the memory of an elephant”.
Pranab Mukherjee, the treasure trove of political secrets was an avid diary writer.
Pranab’s much- talked about “Red Diary” is apparently the “truthful accounts of his political journey”. It is believed that this diary if ever published could actually stir the hornet’s nest of contemporary Indian politics.
In his e- book Akothito Pranab ( Untold Pranab), journalist and author, Goutam Lahiri wrote that Pranab Mukherjee had said, “My Red Diary will never be published. It will be cremated along with my body.” There were speculations that Mukherjee would eventually handover his “Red Diary” to his daughter, Sharmishtha Mukherjee.
Pranab Mukherjee’s political journey began in West Bengal in 1969 as the election agent for V. K. Krishna Menon, who was contesting a Lok Sabha byelection as an Independent candidate. In his 50odd years, Pranab was the ultimate insider.
He had a vast network of key political players, cutting across party lines. He was not only close to the CPI( M) leader and the then West Bengal chief minister,
Jyoti Basu but had often invited RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat to Rashtrapati Bhawan during his tenure as the President. He had powerful allies and equally powerful enemies. His career experienced the rough and tumble of Indian politics.
The man, who was virtually “number two” during the rule of Indira Gandhi was expelled from the party by her son, Rajiv Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi influenced by Congress leaders, like Arun Nehru, A. B. A. Gani Khan Chowdhury, Balaram Jhakhar among the few not merely excluded Mukherjee from Union Council of Ministers but later expelled him. Rajiv Gandhi was told that Pranab Mukherjee nurtured the ambition of being the Prime Minister after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. Lahiri in his e- book recounts the detail of this “misunderstanding”.
Mr Lahiri writes, “Rajiv Gandhi ( on his way to Delhi from Bengal) sought Pranab’s advice on ‘ who after Indira’.”
Mukherjee reminded that when Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966,
the seniormost Cabinet minister, Gulzari Lal Nanda was appointed as acting PM. Pranab Mukherjee was number two in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet.
This apparently was distorted and the coterie close Rajiv Gandhi indicated that Pranab was pitching for himself. This was the beginning of Pranab Mukherjee’s fall during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure.
However, hit by Bofors Scam, a revolt by V. P. Singh later forced Rajiv Gandhi to get Pranab back into the Congress in 1988.
Sometime before his assassination, Rajiv Gandhi in a magazine interview had confessed, “Things people told me about Pranab Mukherjee were wrong.”
The content in the “Red Diary”, if ever seen the light of the day, could lift the curtains, which even in his book The Coalition Years, Mukherjee refrained from doing. His book displayed caution and actually is not a tell- all memoir.
Pranab Mukherjee had been privy to all the redefining moments in Indian politics ranging from creation and rise of the militant Sikh leader, Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale, anti- Sikh riots and demolition Babri Mosque among others. Speculations remain that Pranab Mukherjee’s proximity to a businessman marked the rise of one of the most powerful corporate houses in the country.
All this and more could all be in that “Red Diary”, which might or might not ever be published.