Jaitely says Pranab ensured constitutional propriety of Govt's decisions

Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee, who demits office on Tuesday, ensured that all decisions of the Union Council of Ministers are conformed to constitutional propriety.

Jaitley's comment came a day after Mukherjee delivered his farewell address to parliamentarians during which he cautioned the government against using the ordinance route too frequently to push legislations while lamenting that time devoted to lawmaking is declining.

"On some occasions, he (Mukherjee) wanted to be satisfied before he accorded his approval to those decisions.  I was usually sent to interact with him.  He was always well prepared on facts, on Constitutional requirements and the need for fairness. These essentials had to be balanced with the requirement of the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers being forwarded to him," the minister said in a special blog post.

Jaitley said, "this delicate balance he maintained throughout his tenure. He always accepted the advice of the Council of Ministers." Jaitley said Mukherjee, as the President, was unquestionably the guardian of the Constitution. "He realised that in a democracy there could only be one power centre i.e. elected government and the prime minister. He, therefore, actively associated with two different governments during his presidency with equal ease."

He said, "Mukherjee will now assume a greater role in advising and guiding the nation as 'an amicus curiae' which he always was." Jaitley said India has seen a few politicians like him who had the capacity to evolve into a statesman irrespective of their political affiliation and the office that they held. "Pranabda is one such leader who brought dignity to every office that he held."

Jaitley recalled that, even when Mukherjee was in opposition, he was never an obstructionist.  "He was a product of the parliamentary system and favoured using Parliament for larger national interest. In Parliament, he almost spoke like an amicus curia – a friend of the House, rather than a party leader. This quality enabled him to evolve a consensus in favour of the argument that he advanced." 

Jaitley added that "very rarely did he lose his cool, but if he did, he was smiling a minute later and making up with his target through some complimentary references."

Jaitley said he had a great sense of history which blended with his vision of constitutional propriety. "The Democrat in him insisted that the government and the opposition had to work in tandem on major issues.  He could recollect parliamentary and judicial precedents to decide which was the right course that had to be pursued."

The minister said, "Pranabda exhibited a unique charm which won him many admirers. He made dealing with him a matter of delight.  He put all his interlocutors at ease.  He grew in stature with each day.  His transformation from a senior minister to a president was exemplary.  As president, he was completely non-partisan and conducted himself as an advisor and a guide to his Governments.  He owned up the programmes of the government and became their advocate.  He once told me that he had the unique privilege of moving before Parliament the Constitution amendment of Good and Services Tax.

He wanted to approve the Constitution amendment during his tenure as the President. It gave him great satisfaction when he did so. He exits from the Rashtrapati Bhawan with a great stature."