Pranab Mukherjee Unknown Facts: On this day in the year 1935, former President of India Pranab Mukherjee was born. Pranab Mukherjee, known as a stalwart in Indian politics, was born in Birbhum district of West Bengal. His political life has been very illustrious. After five decades of experience, he was elected as the 13th President of India.
When Mukherjee started his political career in 1967, he became an important member of the Congress party and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha for five terms and the Lok Sabha for two terms. He died two years ago i.e. on August 31 in 2020 after being hospitalized for several days. Let us now tell you some interesting things related to his life.
- Apart from being a politician, Pranab Mukherjee has also worked as a clerk in the office of the Deputy Accountant-General, Calcutta, as a professor at Vidyanagar College and then as a journalist at Desher Dak.
- Mukherjee was the first Rajya Sabha member to serve as the Finance Minister. He presented seven budgets during his tenure.
- Pranab Mukherjee has been awarded several national and international honors for his contribution to the country, including the Bharat Ratna given in 2019.
- Very few people know that the versatile leader was called ‘Poltu’ by his family members and close friends.
- Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi played a huge role in Mukherjee’s political career. He had an important contribution in bringing him to the Congress party.
- Mukherjee, known for his faith in the justice system, had rejected several mercy petitions during his presidency. These included the mercy petitions of Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab.
- It is said that the late leader was greatly inspired by Chinese political leader Deng Xiaoping. He often used to talk about them.
- Pranab Mukherjee once spoke openly about not becoming the Prime Minister of India. He had said that one of the main reasons for not becoming the Prime Minister was his weak Hindi language.