Some Known Facts About Pranab Mukherjee
- Pranab Mukherjee is among the few politicians who are quite versatile and can manage almost anything. He was the one who held three key ministries – Finance, Defence and External Affairs.
- The one and only one finance minister who has presented budgets since pre-liberalization till post-liberalization era. Till the date, he has presented 7 budgets.
- Before becoming a full-fledged politician, Pranab Mukherjee was a college teacher and began his political career in 1969.
- Pranab Mukherjee maintains a diary and manages to write a page every day. His daughter Sharmistha
Mukherjee wants to publish it - Euro money Magazine in the year 1984 rated Pranab Mukherjee as one of the best finance ministers in the world.
- The Bengali politician loves fish curry and consumes it almost every day except Tuesdays. He is extremely fond of poshto which is cooked along with vegetables.
- A religious person, Mukherjee performs puja every day. He also recites Sanskrit shlokas and hymns.
- He is said to be common man’s person or representative.
- Pranab Mukherjee is a workaholic and works nearly 18 hours a day. He relaxes by listening to Rabindra sangeet before sleeping and this must be the secret of his cool temper.
- Another secret of his fitness is that Pranab Mukherjee loves to walk especially in the morning and takes 40 rounds of his 90 m
lawn. - Pranab Mukherjee parliamentary career began in 1969 when he became a member of the Rajya Sabha from the Congress Party.
- He’s known to be a voracious reader and he usually starts reading three books simultaneously.
- He is inspired by Chinese politician Deng Xiaoping.
- He believes in Goddess Durga. It’s also said that he fasts during three days of the Durga Puja.
- He has not taken a holiday for the last 20 years except a trip to his village every year for Durga Puja, when he dons a priest’s robe and performs prayers for four days.
- Pranab Mukherjee was once famous for smoking his trademark Dunhill pipe. He gave up smoking many years ago and now advises others to kick the butt.
- Indira Gandhi once suggested to Mukherjee that he hire an English tutor and brush up his pronunciation. He
simply refused, preferring his thickly accented Bengali English. - He began his career as a clerk in the office of the Deputy Accountant-General in Kolkata.
- He is an early riser – and hits works after his puja every morning. At night, he reads before he goes to bed, and take a customary nap in the afternoon for an hour.
- Mukherjee was derisively called a “rootless wanderer” by some of his party colleagues as he had never won a Lok Sabha election till 2004. When he won from the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal in 2004, he literally wept with joy. “For me this is a dream come true, a dream I have cherished and nourished all my life,” he had said.
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