Sonia Gandhi says Pranab Mukherjee hinted at desire to be PM
The former Congress chief's memoir has drawn a response from Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi stated that senior leader Pranab Mukherjee hinted at a long-held desire to become prime minister during a 2010 conversation, according to a report by The Times of India.
In her new memoir, "Belonging: A Journey of Love", Gandhi wrote that Mukherjee suggested it might be time for a change at the top after expressing frustration over differences with then-finance minister P Chidambaram.
The memoir, which was released on Tuesday, describes an unspoken division of responsibility where the government functioned under Dr Manmohan Singh and the party under Gandhi.
Pranab Mukherjee's daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, responded to the account by questioning why her father's political ambition should be a cause for surprise.
Sharmistha Mukherjee said there was nothing wrong with a politician aspiring for the role, noting her father had decades of experience in politics and governance.
She also addressed Gandhi's claim that Mukherjee did not hold her responsible for changing the subject during their 2010 talk, stating that he was a pragmatic person who understood such reasons.