E-Paper
‘Pranab held my hand like a father to help me settle in Delhi’: PM Modi on outgoing Prez
Pranab Mukherjee is an inspirational figure, PM Modi said as he recalled his association with people from different walks of life who made an impact on him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that President Pranab Mukherjee held his hand like a father and helped him “set in Delhi life”.
The PM said in his life he has come across people of different ideologies and has been enriched by interacting with them.
During a book-release function at Rashtrapati Bhavan, barely three weeks before Mukherjee retires, Modi praised the President and said whenever he met him, he inquired about his health and told him to take proper rest. Mukherjee’s term ends on July 25, the day when the next President takes charge.
“I like to work for long hours. If the work gets over too soon, I wonder, what will I do in the evening?” One day, when I finished a meeting at 9 pm, I even asked myself, “arre, itni jaldi khatm ho gayi?” Modi quipped.
Modi recalled how he worked with people of different ideas.
“When I was the Gujarat CM, I worked closely with Nawal Kishore Sharma of the Congress. In Delhi, I was fortunate to work with Pranab da.”
Even as the NDA has fielded its own candidate, the relationship between Mukherjee and Modi has remained cordial. Last week in Kolkata, Mukherjee appreciated the different schemes of the Modi government and said that after 30 years, people of India have ended the fragile and opportunistic coalition government.
