(70) ભારતના ૧૩મા રાષ્ટ્રપતિ પ્રણવ મુખર્જી — એક પરિચય

India’s 13th President,Pranav Mukharji

રાષ્ટ્રપતિપદની ૧૯ જુલાઈ ૨૦૧૨ નાં રોજ યોજાયેલી ચૂંટણીનાં પરિણામો રવિવારે જાહેર થતાં પ્રણવદાને સત્તાવાર રીતે ચૂંટાયેલા જાહેર કરવામાં આવ્યા છે. પ્રણવે તેમના હરીફ પી. એ. સંગ્મા સામે જંગી સરસાઈથી વિજય મેળવ્યો છે. રાષ્ટ્રપતિપદ સંભાળનાર તેઓ પહેલા બંગાળી બાબુ છે. તેઓ હવે દેશના ૧૩મા રાષ્ટ્રપતિ બનીને ટૂંકમાં જ રાષ્ટ્રપતિભવનમાં દેશનું સર્વોચ્ચ સ્થાન સંભાળશે.

શ્રી પ્રણવ મુખરજીની રાજકીય કારકિર્દી અને એમની ઓળખ કરાવતો એક અંગ્રેજીમાં ઈ-મેલ હ્યુસ્ટનમાં રહેતા મિત્ર શ્રી ભીખુભાઈ મિસ્ત્રી એ મોકલ્યો છે..એમના આભાર સાથે એને નીચે રજુ કર્યો છે.આ પોસ્ટ  આપણા નવા રાષ્ટ્રપતિની ઓળખ મેળવવામાં મદદરૂપ થશે.

                                                                                                                                                    —— વિનોદ પટેલ

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Who is Pranab Mukherjee

 

 

After the twists and turns of the past few days, Pranab Mukherjee finally won the election to be the India’s 13thPresident.He will take oath of office in few days.

 

Here is a brief profile of his life and career.

 

• Pranab-da, as he is universally known, was born to Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee, a freedom fighter, and Rajlakshmi on December 11, 1935, in Mirati village near Kirnahar town of West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
• After studying politics, history and law in Calcutta University, he worked as a teacher, a journalist and a lawyer before joining politics in 1969. He first began in Rajya Sabha, and has since held many important portfolios including only the topmost ones like foreign, home and defence in the last 30 years.
• Mr Mukherjee was first elected an MP 43 years ago. He became a minister 39 years ago. His first stint as the Finance Minister of India was exactly 30 years ago. Virtually since the start of his career, he  has been a minister under every Congress Prime Minister in the last 40 years. He is acknow ledged across political parties as one of the best Parliamentarians — several generations of MPs have not seen Parliament without him in it.
• Being a Congressman is in the 76-year-olds blood. His father was a Congressman and he himself has been that party’s troubleshooter for years, privy to every nitty gritty, planning every move. And yet, he has seen his days of rebellion — a brief spell about 28 years ago, when he was out in the cold and even formed his own party.
• After  former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, Mr Mukherjee quit the Congress following a power struggle in the party. Mrs Gandhi’s son Rajiv, hoisted to the top of the party and government, did not accommodate Mr Mukherjee in his Cabinet. Pranab-da left in a huff and floated his own party — the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress. He was brought back by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao who made him the deputy chairman of Planning Commission.
• For many years now, Pranab has been the Congress’ Mr Dependable, the solutions man. As the party’s crisis man he parachutes in when matters escalate. Many consider him as the sharpest mind in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet with a deep understanding of Indian politics, economic policies as well as strategic issues.
• If he is core to the Congress’ process of decision-making, Mr Mukherjee is also invaluable to the party as a man who gets along well and is effective while negotiating with, both UPA coalition partners and Opposition leaders on crucial Parliamentary affairs. After a full day’s government work at his North Block office, his political meetings famously begin at his home after 10 in the night, often stretching to 1 am.
• Apart from his long stint in Parliament, he has been on the board of governors at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and was rated one of the best finance ministers in the world by Euro money magazine in 1984. He is famous for not withdrawing the last installment of a 1.1 billion dollar IMF loan.
• Apart from the average 18 hours of work that Mr Mukherjee is known to put in, he likes to read, garden and listens to music – especially Rabindra Sangeet. His favourite food is fish curry with rice.
• He is married to Suvra and has two sons – Abhijit and Indrajeet — and a daughter – Sharmistha, who is a Kathak dancer. Abhijit Mukherjee is a Congress MLA in West Bengal.