NEW DELHI: Looking to set at rest speculation that his visit to the RSS headquarters was motivated by plans to return to politics, former President
Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter and Delhi Congress spokesperson
Sharmistha Mukherjee has said the veteran will never return to active politics.
Amid incessant commentary, she said on Twitter: “Mr Raut, after retiring as President of India, my father is NOT going to enter into active politics again.” She had, on an earlier occasion, similarly stated that active politics was ruled out after he became President in 2012.
The strong disclaimer seems to be aimed at dispelling speculation, fanned by sections unhappy with his address at the RSS headquarters, that he was positioning himself as a “consensus” candidate in case BJP and NDA do not get a majority in the 2019
Lok Sabha
polls.
The rebuff is also aimed at comments such as those by
Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut that RSS could name the former president for the PM’s post in the 2019 elections.
Ever since Mukherjee surprised the political class, specially his party Congress, by deciding to attend an RSS convocation function, multiple motivations have been offered by political leaders and commentators about the provocation for the former president’s visit to Nagpur.
Sources close to Mukherjee have clarified that he is not bound to look at politics through the prism of party politics.
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