And now for the memoirs

The good-hearted, the wise and the discreet side to Pranab Mukherjee

July 25, 2017 12:02 am | Updated 12:02 am IST

I lost touch with Pranab Mukherjee after he became President in 2012 . After all, a journalist can’t go knocking on the doors of Rashtrapati Bhavan and expect to be let in or pick up the phone and natter with its exalted occupant. But in the decades before that, I felt I had established a relationship which revealed some of his remarkable qualities. Today, on the day Mr. Mukherjee returns to private life, let me share some of my stories with you.

The interview

Pranab Mukherjee can get angry quickly but he’s faster to forget and forgive. In an interview in 2004, when I began by repeatedly and forcefully questioning his decision, as Defence Minister, to promote to lieutenant general a man who had been rejected on three separate occasions by an army board and suggested this was politicisation of the army, he was visibly riled. When I then questioned if he had done this because the officer concerned was related to a senior Congress leader, his face became incandescent. I could see his veins throbbing. Finally, when I said this contradicted the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh’s pledge to “recapture the spirit of idealism” and his “commitment to decency (and) morality”, Mr. Mukherjee’s fury made me fear he might walk out.

He didn’t. Instead we changed subjects and carried on talking for another 20 minutes. When the interview ended, I apologised for annoying him. His response took me completely aback.

He threw back his head and laughed. His eyes were twinkling and I could see this wasn’t put on. “You were doing your job and I was doing mine. I’ve known you long enough Korron (as he fondly mispronounced my name) to realise your bark is worse than your bite.” Then, with his hand on my shoulder, we walked down Jamia’s long corridors to his waiting car. He wanted everyone to know he wasn’t upset. More importantly, he didn’t ask for any cuts.

Years earlier, when his unwarranted ‘banishment’ from high politics had ended and he was Narasimha Rao’s Foreign Minister, I met him for an off-the-record briefing prior to an interview with Benazir Bhutto, who was at the time Pakistan’s Prime Minister.

“You know what to ask, Korron,” he said, brushing aside my reason for calling on him. “I would like you to take a message to her.” In turn she gave me one for him and I thus got a second opportunity to meet him. This proved very useful because Salman Haidar, then Foreign Secretary, refused to clear the interview for broadcast by Doordarshan. In those days that was a huge stumbling block.

“Hmmm,” Mr. Mukherjee responded when I told him how the interview was stuck. “I don’t want to embarrass the FS by overruling him. Why don’t you give it to a private channel and I’ll ensure there is no further obstacle.” That’s exactly what I did. The interview ended up with more attention than it would have got on Doordarshan.

The prank call

My last story is to do with 26/11 in 2008. Mr. Mukherjee was, once again, Foreign Minister. At the time someone had made a hoax call to the Pakistan President claiming to be Pranab Mukherjee and got through. This caller, it was said, had threatened Asif Zardari. The Pakistanis raised the matter with Washington and, if I recall correctly, Condoleezza Rice, then Secretary of State, telephoned Mr. Mukherjee for clarification.

Now, on November 29, the day 26/11 ended, Asif Zardari gave me an interview. A few hours later, when I rang to thank him, he gave me a message for Mr. Mukherjee. “Tell him not to threaten me in future. This is not the way a Foreign Minister should behave.” It took me a while to contact Mr. Mukherjee and he heard me in silence. When I finished he made me repeat the story a second time. “Thank you, Korron,” he said, but I sensed the episode wasn’t over.

Hours later Satyabrata Pal, then our High Commissioner to Pakistan, rang with a full explanation and details to prove that the call that had upset Mr. Zardari was a hoax. I was asked to pass this on to the Pakistan President. I can’t say Mr. Zardari was convinced but he was prepared to consider the matter closed. “Forget it,” he laughed. “There are more important things happening in the world. Give Mr. Mukherjee my regards and make sure you tell him I’m a good guy.” When I did, Mr. Mukherjee simply giggled.

I’ve recounted these stories to make three points. Mr. Mukherjee is a good-hearted man who bears no ill-will. He’s a wise politician who can help a journalist without embarrassing a civil servant who’s erred. Finally, he can handle awkward situations with deft discretion and no one will ever know how he did it.

I shall miss you Mr. Mukherjee but, now that you have the time, I hope you’ll write your memoirs.

Karan Thapar is a broadcast journalist

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