New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit Mukherjee, after a public fight with his sister Sharmistha over the former President’s last book, insisted today that the publishers should hold the book until he read through, claiming his father “had he been alive, would have passed through it before final roll out”. In Pranab Mukherjee book has comparison between Manmohan Singh and his successor Narendra Modi
Abhijit Mukherjee posted fresh tweets this morning, every day after his sister publicly snubbed his call to the publishers of Pranab Mukherjee’s memoirs, “The Presidential Years”, to prevent the book until he review it.
“Contrary to the opinion of some, i’m not against the publishing of my father’s Memoir but I even have requested the publisher to permit me to go through its contents before final roll out and that i believe my request is sort of legitimate and within my rights as his Son,” Abhijit Mukherjee, a Congress leader and former MP, tweeted.
“Had my father been alive, he too would have passed through it before the ultimate roll out as he had done in the past too for his other volumes. Till then, and that i repeat, till then, the publisher has been requested to prevent publishing motivated excerpts to realize cheap publicity,” he wrote, hitting back at his sister.
The war of the siblings – both Congress leaders — played out on Twitter yesterday, days after publishers Rupa released excerpts in which Pranab Mukherjee blames Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the Congress’s 2014 defeat.
The controversial excerpts have hit the Congress at a time its leaders are openly questioning the leadership, especially the Gandhis, after successive election defeats. The book, the last during a series, is set for release next month.
Sharmistha Mukherjee yesterday accused her brother of seeking “cheap publicity” and forbade him from creating “unnecessary hurdles” in the book’s release.
Abhijit Mukherjee had written that the publishers should “stop the publication of the memoir likewise as motivated excerpts” floating without his written consent.
Sharmistha Mukherjee countered him within hours.