PM must have had stress: Mukherjee

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent bypass surgery, might have suffered the heart ailment due to stress recently, according to External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent bypass surgery, might have suffered the heart ailment due to stress recently, according to External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.

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"Some stress must be there. Otherwise, I don't know why it has happened," Mukherjee told NDTV when asked whether the Prime Minister was suffering from any stress recently.

The interviewer was apparently referring to stress due to the situation that has developed after the Mumbai attacks.

Mukherjee commended the doctors who operated and attended on the Prime Minister, saying that they have done a good job.

The External Affairs Minister, who is now officiating as the Prime Minister for many purposes, hoped that Singh will have a speedy recovery.

On his being given the additional charge of Finance Ministry, a portfolio held by Singh, Mukherjee said the dual charge is not anything new for him as he has had such experience for most of his 20-year-long ministerial career.

"Dual charges are not new to me. Rather, this time, dual charges are for a short while," he said.

He recalled the past instances when he had held more than one portfolio. The process started in 1980, when he became Cabinet Minister for the first time and held portfolios of Commerce, Steel, Mines, Civil Supplies.