Does Pratibha Patil deserve what she's asking for?
Pratibha Patil succeeded a man who served as the President and became 'People's President'. Did she walk the right path after that?
"He was the best human being I came across. I feel very sorry. He had good humour, had very good presence of mind and always wanted to give something to society," said Former President Pratibha Patil, when the news of APJ Abdul Kalam broke out.
Despite observing these things about Dr Kalam, she did not apply any of these during her Presidential tenure, or after that. While the country mourns and bids the Missile Man a goodbye, Patil's staff is busy making special requests for their 'madam'. For the last two months, her staff has been requesting the Home Minister's office to sanction a car for her trips outside Pune, in addition to the fuel allowance that she already receives for her personal car.
READ: Pratibha Patil demands Car Seva
According to the President's (Emoluments And) Pension Act, 1951, a former President is entitled to a furnished house, two telephones, a mobile phone and a vehicle or car allowance. However, when Patil was given an official car, she rejected it and instead asked for a fuel allowance.
This is not the first time Patil has failed to fill the shoes left behind by Dr Abdul Kalam. While the latter exercised his power by bringing in policies like the Office of Profit Bill, converting the Rashtrapati Bhavan to 'People's House', and giving a concept like Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) for the poor, Pratibha Patil, despite holding varied offices from 1967 to 2012, turned out to be "long and low key" President, as termed by the BBC. Her presidential tenure was filled with controversies.
Family 'Tripping'
According to RTI records, Pratibha Patil has taken as many as 11 family members along on her domestic and foreign tours during her tenure as the President of India. "It is a normal diplomatic practice that visiting dignitaries occasionally take members of his/ her family on visiting trips. It is not abnormal," said Syed Akbaruddin when the incident was first reported in 2012. But Patil, being a ceremonial head, was not entitled to these freedoms.
The RTI reports also showed that Air India spent Rs 169 crore on chartered flights for Patil, accompanied by her family members. In addition to that, Rs 36 crore was spent on her stay and local travel.
READ: Pratibha Patil ran a 18 cr bill
The Big Fat Mansion
She is the first ex-President to be residing outside Delhi. As per tradition, after finishing his or her tenure, the outgoing President is provided an official government accommodation. However, a special post-retirement mansion was constructed for Pratibha Patil in Pune. The President's (Emoluments And) Pension Act, 1951, sanctions a 4,498 sq feet bungalow to the retired president in an area where government houses are available. If the president doesn't want such an accommodation then he or she is entitled to a 2,000 sq feet living area for rent. However, the land she was allotted was six times more in size and was a classified defense land at Khadki area in Pune.
The Long List of Mercy Petitions
According to an RTI application more than 91 convicts were seeking commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment since 1981. Out of these 23 pleas were accepted by Pratibha Patil right before her tenure ended. Thus earning her the name of 'Most Merciful President''. However, many of these convicts had committed serious crimes. This included the convict Sushil Murmu who was charged of sacrificing a 9-year-old boy in Jharkand. Supreme Court had termed it a rarest of a rare case which means that Murmu was to be hanged to death, whatsoever.
READ: Pratibha Patil is the 'Most Merciful President'
She also failed to take a stand on the mercy plea of Parliament attacker Afzal Guru, thus raising eyebrows at her pick and choose policy.