Former President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee has asked the publisher to immediately stop publication of the memoir, while his daughter Sharmishta Mukherjee has sided with the publisher and asked Abhijit to not create unnecessary hurdles in the book's publication.
Taking to Twitter, Abhijit Mukherjee said since his father is no more, he wants to go through the final work before it is published.
On the other hand, Abhijit's sister, Sharmishta Mukherjee has openly sided with the publisher and has hit out at Abhijit.
Both the siblings have claimed to have the authority to decide over their father's memoir.
On Tuesday, alleging that certain motivated excerpts of the book were being reported in the media, Abhijit Mukherjee in a tweet said, "Since my father is no more, I being his son want to go through the contents of the final copy of the book before its publication as I believe had my father been alive today, he too would have done the same."
Tagging Rupa Publication in another tweet, he said, "I, the Son of the author of the memoir 'The Presidential Memoirs' request you to kindly stop the publication of the memoir as well as motivated excerpts which is already floating in certain media platforms without my written consent (sic)."
In a third tweet, Abhijit Mukherjee requested the publisher to "immediately stop" publication of the book without his "written consent till I go through its contents". "I have already sent you a detailed letter in this regard which will reach you soon," he said.
On the other hand, soon after this series of tweets, Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmishta Mukherjee, took to Twitter saying she would like her brother (Abhijit) to not create "unnecessary hurdles" in the book's publication.
"I, daughter of the author of the memoir 'The Presidential Years', request my brother Abhijit Mukherjee not to create any unnecessary hurdles in publication of the last book written by our father. He completed the manuscript before he fell sick," she wrote.
Speaking about the memoir, she said the final draft contains her father's handwritten notes and comments that have been strictly adhered to. "The views expressed by him are his own and no one should try to stop it from being published for any cheap publicity. That would be the greatest disservice to our departed father."
Why this controversy?
The war of words between the siblings comes just days after the publishers announced release of the new book with selected portions from it being shared with the media.
In one such excerpt, the late president is quoted as saying, "Some members of the Congress have theorised that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don't subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party's leadership lost political focus after my elevation as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr (Manmohan) Singh's prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs."
Comparing the functioning styles of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukheree in his memoir reportedly writes, "I believe that the moral authority to govern vests with the PM. The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration. While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary. Only time will tell if there is a better understanding on such matters in the second term of this government."
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