Would’ve Stopped Telangana Formation: Pranab in his book

Former President Pranab Mukherjee has written in his book that if Sonia Gandhi had taken his views into consideration, he would have stopped the formation of Telangana. Pranab made these comments in his memoir ‘The Presidential Years, 2012-2017’ which he wrote before his death last year. The book, published by Rupa Publications is released on Tuesday.

Pranab also mentioned about the Congress and PM Narendra Modi. The ex-President said that there is a lot of difference between UPA 1 and UPA 2 government. “It was difficult to believe that the Congress had managed to win just 44 seats. The Congress is a national institution interlinked with people’s lives,” wrote Pranab.

On PM Modi, Pranab stated that he (Modi) must listen to the dissenting voices and speak more often in Parliament. “PM Modi, now in his second term, must take inspiration from his predecessors and provide visible leadership, through his enhanced presence in Parliament to avoid situations that had precipitated the parliamentary crisis we witnessed in the first term,” added Pranab. He further added that he had no differences with Modi. “Both of us knew how to manage those differences, without bringing them out in public,” wrote Pranab.

On the demonetisation, Pranab shared his opinion too. “Modi had not discussed the issue of demonetisation with him prior to his announcement on November 8, 2016 but it did not surprise him as suddenness is absolutely necessary for such announcements,” stated Pranab which hints that he backed the decision as President.