'Modi right person to lead India at this critical juncture of world politics': Sharmistha Mukherjee backs...

'Modi right person to lead India at this critical juncture of world politics': Sharmistha Mukherjee backs PM, slams Congress over Op Sindoor response

Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, on Saturday said her recent article on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was based on an observation made by her father after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when he described the verdict as a mandate not only for the BJP but also for Modi personally.

Elaborating on the article, she told ANI, "I wrote an article which was published in many Hindi and also regional newspapers. So there I shared an insight made by my father regarding the 2014 election and Narendra Modi. That was for the first time in the history of Lok Sabha elections that a new face was declared as the prime ministerial candidate."

Unlike earlier elections, she noted, where the Prime Minister's face either emerged after the results or was the incumbent, the BJP had projected Narendra Modi as its candidate before the election.

"Otherwise, if you see even within Congress also, first there is the election, there is always an assumption, and specially if the election is being led by a Prime Minister of the previous government, there is always an assumption that that person is going to be the next Prime Minister. But here in this case, it was a new face, and he was projected as the Prime Minister. And so, as if it was people who chose not just BJP, not just Narendra Modi's party but Narendra Modi as a Prime Minister to lead India. So that was a very unique factor. This insight was made by my father," she said.

Speaking on Prime Minister Modi's leadership, Mukherjee told the news agency, "Modi has been able to provide a strong and stable government which is I think extremely important, especially in today's context when we see this whole geopolitical uncertainty all over the world. So at this time it is absolutely necessary for India to have a strong and stable central government and strong leadership, and I think Mr Modi is the right person to lead India at this very, very critical juncture, especially keeping in mind the world politics."

Drawing a contrast with coalition governments, Mukherjee said the experience of the UPA-1 and UPA-2 regimes showed that alliance politics often came with instability, as coalition partners could pressure the government and limit its ability to take bold decisions. She credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with providing a stable government and said such leadership is especially important amid growing global geopolitical uncertainty. According to her, Modi is well placed to lead India through the current international challenges.

On Congress’s behaviour during Operation Sindoor

Mukherjee also said that the opposition should have backed the Centre during Operation Sindoor, maintaining that matters of national security should rise above party politics.

In the interview with ANI, she also took aim at the Congress, saying the party responded "very childishly" to the operation and was "mean and immature" in going after its own leader, Shashi Tharoor.

She said political parties have every right to question the government, but issues relating to national security require a united approach.

"So when a question of national interest comes, I think everybody should stand together. Of course, this is the legitimate right of the opposition to criticise, to question the government and which they should do so, which the BJP also did. So that is not the question. But when the question of national security comes, when there is a threat to national security, national integrity, then I think everybody should stand with the government," she said.

Mukherjee said that while she personally disagreed with several policy decisions of PM Modi, such differences were a legitimate part of democratic discourse. However, she argued that the opposition should be willing to support the government on matters of national interest, adding that this standard should apply to all parties.

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