Editorial
Pranab Mukherjee, India's new president
His experience gives the office a new sheen
The election of Pranab Mukherjee as president of India is important for a couple of reasons. In the first place, it is reflective of the clout the veteran Bengali politician has had on Indian politics, given his experience in government. In the second, it promises to be a marked change from how the presidency has been looked upon in the past five years under Pratibha Patil, against whom allegations of impropriety have been levelled on a fairly regular basis. Mukherjee's elevation to the presidency is also significant in light of the fact that he did not have the unanimous support of all political parties. His rival P.A. Sangma did not have a chance against him, of course. Even so, Mukherjee would have been happier had a wholesale consensus built up around him. There is too the belated support he drew from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
All said and done, though, president-elect Pranab Mukherjee is the one man who at this point can restore Rashtrapati Bhavan to the sanctified image it has generally had since India attained freedom in 1947. Mukherjee steps into a presidency which in the past has been exalted by the presence of Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, V.V. Giri, Shankar Dayal Sharma and others of equally high intellectual brilliance. In a sense, Mukherjee has a certain edge over them in that he arrives at the presidency after substantive experience gained at such important ministries as finance, defence and foreign affairs. A Mukherjee presidency, therefore, will be one that cannot be taken for granted despite the holder of the office traditionally being a figurehead. For once in a long time, India could look forward to an activist president who has a good record as a consensus builder.
We in Bangladesh welcome the rise of Pranab Mukherjee to India's presidency. In every position he has served, he has been careful to understand Dhaka's concerns when it came to dealing with Delhi on various bilateral issues. His position on a sharing of the waters of common rivers and on other matters has been one of respect to Bangladesh's people and political leadership. Like the people of India, we in Bangladesh look forward to a thriving, throbbing presidency under Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments