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The Rediff Interview/Pranab Mukherjee

'She has been hurt'

Former Union minister Pranab Mukherjee was happily going through a book on the eve of the All India Congress Committee's emergency session called to persuade Sonia Gandhi to take back her resignation as party president.

Mukherjee was not in the least interested in answering ticklish questions. "Why should we tell you now whether or not we have a contingency plan to run the party in case Mrs Gandhi does not take back her resignation?" asked the veteran leader from West Bengal angrily.

In a brief interview to Onkar Singh, he also ruled out any amendment to the Constitution to bar foreigners from holding the highest posts of the land.

Have you had this kind of situation before in the Congress party?

We had a similar situation in 1950 when the then Congress president resigned from the post, when Pandit Nehru took over as both the Congress party chief as well as prime minister. Then, we had a slightly different situation when the Congress split once in 1969 and later in 1978. On each of these occasions we had leaders who came forward to take over the party.

What is the agenda before Tuesday's AICC session?

There is only one agenda. We will express our faith in Sonia Gandhi and try to persuade her to take back her resignation.

Is it true she is attending the session?

Who told you this? I wish she will.

You have been meeting her frequently, what does she say?

She does not say anything. She has been hurt.

What is your impression?

Does my impression matter? It does not matter what I think. What matters is what she thinks.

P A Sangma says you have not replied to their main demand that the Constitution should be amended to prevent persons of foreign origin from holding the highest executive posts of the land.

I replied to his questions in detail in our interface on television the other day. How can we support an amendment to the Constitution of India? Our Constitution provides for equal opportunity to all citizens. Any change would totally disturb the constitutional structure. We are opposed to any change that will alter the very structure of our Constitution. Under the present Constitution no foreigner is allowed to hold any public office in India. Therefore, any amendment of the Constitution is absolutely not called for.

But in no other country, according to the expelled leaders, is a foreign-born allowed to hold public office...

In a large number of countries foreigners settled in those places, after getting their citizenship, can hold public office. Barring the USA and few other countries there is no restriction. Any citizen can become the prime minister or hold any public office irrespective of the fact whether he was a foreigner before acquiring the citizenship of that particular country. Those who say that in no country can a foreign-born hold public office are either great scholars or they don't know anything.

At one time the governor of West Bengal went on to become the prime minister of Australia.

So far Sonia has refused to take back her resignation. Have you thought of any alternative plans to run the party?

Why do we need to think in those terms?

Don't you have a contingency plan?

Even if we do have a contingency plan we will not be telling the media about it. There is no compulsion to tell you all. We are running a party and we know what is best for us. What to do in case she does not agree to take back her resignation is purely a party matter and it would be discussed in the party as and when the need arises. So far I don't see the need for doing that. Let us wait for some time.

We are still in the process of persuading her and we are confident that we will eventually succeed (smiles once again).

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