Pranab Mukherjee dropped PM hint, Sonia recalls; his daughter responds
What's the story
Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has reacted to Sonia Gandhi's surprise over her father's prime ministerial ambitions. In the memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia recalled a 2010 conversation with Pranab during which he hinted that "it was time for a change at the top," a suggestion she said "shocked" her. Replying, Sharmistha asked if it was "a crime to be ambitious," especially when backed by decades of experience in politics, governance and a brilliant mind.
Family dynamics
Sharmistha questions if Sonia was surprised by non-Gandhi PM ambitions
She wrote, "What's there to get 'shocked' about? Is it a crime to be ambitious, especially when that 'ambition' was supported by decades of experience in politics & governance, hard work & a brilliant mind?"
Sharmistha also questioned if Sonia was surprised that someone outside the Gandhi-Nehru family could have such ambitions.
She wrote, "If a well-deserving person harbors ambition to become Prime Minister, what's wrong in that, unless Sonia ji was 'shocked' by the fact that anyone outside Gandhi-Nehru family could even dare to nurture such an ambition & furthermore dared to 'hint' it to her?"
Character defense
Pranab didn't hold it against her, says Sharmistha
After the suggestion, Sonia wrote that "I gently changed the subject, and though he may have been disappointed, he never made me feel he held it against me."
Sharmistha addressed this comment, reassuring Sonia that he did not harbor resentment, citing his diaries and their conversations.
"He was a pragmatic person with deep understanding. He understood her reasons & insecurities that all human beings are prone to," she wrote.
Pranab served as India's President from 2012 to 2017.
Child
Sonia recalls losing her first child
In her memoir, Sonia also recalled losing her first child, a boy, an admission she has rarely made.
Sonia writes that she and Rajiv and Indira Gandhi were overjoyed when they learned that she was expecting in 1969.
She giddily wrote to her friend abroad, "May I let you into a secret? I am expecting to become a grandmother in April. We are all thrilled."
The excitement was short-lived as Sonia went into labor two months before her due date.
Child
'We fell in love with him immediately'
She delivered the baby prematurely on January 18, 1969.
"I heard the baby's first cry as he was placed in the incubator. Later Rajiv took me to see him, a tiny, perfectly formed boy, with thick, black hair and long, slim fingers."
"We fell in love with him immediately."
Rajiv was warned by doctors that the infant's chances were uncertain.
The following morning, they were told the child did not survive.