Pranab Mukherjee: News

Pranab Mukherjee was a member of the Indian National Congress who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017. Mukherjee has also served as the Union Finance Minister from 2009-2012. In 2019, he received the Bharat Ratna by his successor as President, Ram Nath Kovind. In 1967, he began his political journey as a founding member of the Bangla Congress. He played an important role before the 1967 election in forging the United Front Alliance against the Indian National Congress. In 1972, Mukherjee was recruited by Indira Gandhi to the Indian National Congress. He was known as a Gandhi loyalist and was called her ‘man for all seasons.’ During his term, he helped in improving the finances of the government. He founded the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress in 1986 in West Bengal. In 2012, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of India and he became the first Bengali to become India’s President. In 2013, Mukherjee promulgated the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance and was the first President to reply to all mercy petitions of death row inmates and mercy petitions of former Presidents. He passed away in 2020 following a lung infection.