Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of the late former President Pranab Mukherjee, has raised probing questions about the contemporary ideology of the Congress party. This comes a day after she asserted that the party should seek leadership beyond the Nehru-Gandhi family.
In a candid social media response, Sharmistha Mukherjee refuted any notion that her father received positions from the Congress or the Gandhi-Nehru family out of charity. She emphasized that Pranab Mukherjee earned and deserved every position based on merit, challenging the expectation of paying homage to the Gandhis for generations.
“What is the current Congress party’s ideology btw? Becoming Shiv-bhakts just before elections?” questioned Sharmistha Mukherjee, taking a dig at Congress leaders.
During the 17th Jaipur Literature Festival on Monday, she emphasized the need to involve grassroots workers in the democratic restoration process within the Congress. Sharmistha Mukherjee expressed concern about the party’s leadership, stating, “Certainly, the time has come to look outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership.”
As a self-proclaimed die-hard Congressperson, she urged the party to introspect whether it is upholding its core values of pluralism, secularism, tolerance, inclusivity, and freedom of expression.
Sharmistha Mukherjee, who joined the Congress in 2014 and contested the Delhi assembly election in 2015, stated in September 2021 that she had “quit politics.”
The questions raised by Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter highlight the ongoing discussions within the Congress about its leadership, ideology, and strategies, sparking introspection within the party.