At the end of a long and distinguished career in politics, Pranab Mukherjee has finally ascended Raisina Hill to become the 13th President of India. Almost to a man, every politician, expert and analyst has doffed his hat to Mukherjee’s political sagacity and stamina, his knowledge of constitutional affairs, and so on.
Yet, there is an element of doubt about what his presidency is going to be.
Since 1984, Mukherjee has carried the accusation that he secretly coveted the prime minister’s post, which is why he earned Rajiv Gandhi‘s distrust, or at least of those close to him, with the result that he had to leave the Congress briefly. Although the Congress and UPA backed him four-square in the presidential campaign, some say he was never really Sonia Gandhi‘s first choice for the post (Hamid Ansari was the other); in fact, Sonia had snubbed an earlier attempt to become deputy PM.
More importantly, ever since he relinquished the finance minister’s post, a number of attempts have been made to tar-brush his record (his retroactive imposition of taxes on Vodafone, etc) and, although he was at the helm when NRIs were allowed to invest in Indian companies in the early 1980s, he is now being loosely called “India’s worst finance minister ever”.
Question: Will Pranab Mukherjee be a copy-book President, going strictly by the Constitution, or given his baggage with the Congress, is he likely to be a bit of an imponderable in 2014, when the time to swear in the next government comes?
churumuri 
He was good for nothing all his life.
Was part of Indira Gandhi team that messed up Economy and our constitution. He hung on to get any opportunity to propogate his retrograde Crony-Socialism. Now he has got a promotion! – He’ll have a nice time at tax payer expense in the most expensive real estate of all. What was his one overarching achievement? Bringing up the Ambani Family?
Good president?!! huh!
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Very clever, different question in the title and a very different one in the actual poll!!
Pranab like his predecessor has been installed so that he can prevent BJP from forming the next Govt. And he will try his best to carry out this task.
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“political sagacity…… knowledge of constitutional affairs, and so on”
All journals are full of this! Can you please give specific examples to validate this attribute.
Other points:
1. Retrospective tax on Vodafone: As a common middle class person I really feel bad that V managed to evade nearly Rs. 30, 000 crores in tax. Fact that most of the rich people/businesses either in India or anywhere in the world don’t pay equitable share of tax doesn’t condone their act. But to change a legislation that has been voted upon by majority, then approved by President and implemented for several decades goes against the principle of respectability. It almost looks like he had a personal axe to grind.
2. He was always a representative of Ambani and Co in the Congress and Party.
3. He was among the chief planner who perpetrated the Anti-Sikh riots after Indira’s murder.
4. Mukherjee is a quintessential Congressman. No sizeable electoral clout but held plump office as reward for being COMPLETE servitude to the Incumbent Gandhi.
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you dont need a president to stop the bjp. they are capable of doing so.
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What is the difference between copy book and rubber stamp?
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Till the day the middle/upper class hindus stay away from voting, low lifes will dominate politics.Among lowlifes, we sometimes have to make do with lesser crooks.Illustrious career as a bag career for ambanis cannot be wished away.Presidential post helps one not being charge sheeted.It is a good place to hide.
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== corrected version please -==
At the outset, like a weatherman I have voted ‘MAY BE’. Since he is an outright politician, Pranabda would go by certain dictums relayed by 10, Janpath and one wonders whether he would analyse any issue logically. I wish that he revives the practice of APJ Abdul Kalam of having regular periodical meetings with MPs and state ministers on various topics. Although the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha are supposed to be apolitical, over the past five decades, none of them seems to have followed this principle, The President is also expected to be impartial. Alas, we have never witnessed one adhering to this principle and trust Pranabda proves me wrong in the interest of the nation.
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OH God for the first time I am seeing something unrelated to Yeddyurappa.Looks like churumuri is obsessed with Yeddyurappa.Its a communal blog.Do you have the guts to write anything about Suresh kumar who lied and got a site and then returned it.
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>although he was at the helm when NRIs were allowed to invest in Indian companies in the early 1980s,
Hahaha, which company got NRI investments in early 80s, from whom & how?. This either looks like a case of hostile take over of Churumuri bandi by Mukes Bhai or Churumuri is getting a free supply of tomato, ullagaddi, mensikai from Reliance Fresh.
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Is this the same man who once said unearthing the black money piled up in Swiss banks and Cayman islands and bringing it home would have a terrible impact on the economy?
Bharadwaj forgave Quottrochi. See where he is now.
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Pranab wears an “Intellectual” mask (like most Bongs do). He never expressed himself and his views clearly in any platform (except for defending Gandhi family and congressparty). Then how can you expect any good from this person?
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http://www.fakingnews.com/2012/07/pratibha-patil-joins-twitter-to-see-if-people-are-still-making-jokes-on-her/
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Chidambaram to Pranab: Yenna Da, Nee yeepadi President anne Da.
Pranab to Chidambaram: Thanks you are always respectfully calling me big brother. I am always your Big brother.
Chidambaram to Pranab:
Onmbe ya soone, Ne yeppadi President anne Da.
I have too much time on my hands.
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This is another one of the too clever by half posts by churmuri…There is no connection between the title of this article and the question that is asked in the survey. This is another instance of the an unsuitable person being elevated to the highest office of the country….after all one has to be repaid for taking care of the interests of the numero uno family by signing a treaty with the Swiss Government to disclose the information of the black money hoarders in swiss accounts that were opened after 2002 thereby saving a lot of embarrassment to the rajmata and her retarded family…and we keep having wet dreams of becoming a sup(p)er power by 2025
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Here ‘good’ perhaps means ‘good to the Congress party’.
So the question would then become would the new President be ‘good to the Congress party’? Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Patil are names that come to mind here.
If it means good in any other sense then he has several precedents to follow. Should he be a ‘people’s’ President like Kalam or an active (in keeping the government on its toes) President like Prasad or Narayanan?
My own feeling is that he might turn out to be more like Venkataraman than anyone else.
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