When Pranab asked Kejriwal to ‘maintain dignity of his office’

NEW DELHI:  Former President Pranab Mukherjee didn’t approve of dharnas (sit-ins) staged by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on various occasions while occupying the post of chief minister. He even advised Kejriwal to “maintain the dignity of the high office”.

In his book The Presidential Years 2012-2017, which he completed before his death last year, Mukherjee has written that he conveyed his disapproval of protest on ‘frivolous issues’ to Kejriwal.  “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy, Manish Sisodia sought my advice on the important subject of the quality of education in our schools and the introduction of special curriculum on happiness.

I used one of these occasions to speak my mind to Kejriwal on his penchant for sitting on dharnas over frivolous issues. He had been prone to take to the streets to highlight various concerns,” Mukherjee recorded in the book, which was released on Tuesday. Kejriwal along with AAP leaders sat outside Rail Bhawan in January 2014, just before Republic Day celebrations on Rajpath, to protest against alleged non-cooperation by Delhi Police officers and seek safety measures for women.

In June 2018, the Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues held a sit-in at the Delhi L-G’s office cum residence demanding directions to the bureaucrats to end their ‘strike’. The top officials were at loggerheads with the AAP dispensation following the alleged assault on then Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and had stopped attending meetings. Prakash was allegedly assaulted by AAP leaders and ministers during a late night meeting at Kejriwal’s residence in February 2018.

Referring to the nine-day long protest by the CM and ministers at L-G office, Mukherjee wrote that his counselling had brought about ‘some’ changes in Kejriwal’s conduct.  “I told him that while all this was fine when he was an activist, if he persisted with the same strategy as CM, it would not add to the dignity of the high office he occupied. I advised that it was important for him to maintain that dignity. I can say that my conversation with him on the importance of balancing power with responsibility did lead to some turnaround in his conduct,” Mukherjee wrote.