New Delhi: Former President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee on Tuesday defended her father's ambition to become Prime Minister after Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi described him as someone who never gave up his aspiration for the top post, in her memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love' released on Tuesday.
Reacting to Sonia Gandhi's account of her interaction with Pranab Mukherjee in 2010, Sharmistha questioned why his ambition should come as a surprise, saying that it was backed by decades of experience in politics and governance, hard work and intellectual ability.
"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? Once, when asked by me whether he wanted to become PM, he very candidly answered that 'any politician worth his salt has this ambition'," Sharmistha said in a social media post.
"My father came from a very humble background. Whatever he achieved in his life was through sheer merit & hard work. There was no one to serve him positions, including PM-ship, on a platter due to dynastic entitlements. If a well-deserving person harbours ambition to become Prime Minister, what's wrong with that, unless Sonia ji was 'shocked' by the fact that anyone outside the Gandhi-Nehru family could even dare to nurture such an ambition & furthermore dared to 'hint' it to her?" she said. (ANI)