My meeting with Bal Thackeray upset Sonia, says ex-prez Pranab

Revealing this in his book The Coalition Years, Mukherjee said he had met Thackeray on the advice of Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, a part of the Congress-led UPA-II government. 

He said that during his campaign visit to Mumbai on July 13, 2012, he had gone to meet Thackeray at his residence after the Shiv Sena leader had extended his party’s support to him despite being a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). 

“I took a decision to meet Thackeray despite Sonia Gandhi’s disapproval because I felt that the man who had broken away from his traditional coalition partner to support my candidature, should not feel humiliated,” Mukherjee said in his book. 

The veteran Congressman said he had asked both Gandhi and Pawar, who was instrumental in influencing Thackeray towards him, whether he should meet the Sena leader during his visit to Mumbai. Pawar’s advice was completely different from that of Gandhi as he insisted that Mukherjee should meet Thackeray. Pawar said Thackeray would consider it a personal insult if Mukherjee did not meet him during his visit to Mumbai. 

“Sonia Gandhi was not enthusiastic about my meeting Bal Thackeray and advised me to avoid it if possible. Sonia Gandhi’s reservations about Thackeray were based on her own perception of his policies,” he said. 

“I returned to Delhi, and the following morning Girija Vyas called on me and said that Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel were upset about my meeting with Thackeray. I understood the cause of their unhappiness but, as I have explained, I did what I believed was right. I had to keep in mind the sensitivity of the advice given by Sharad Pawar — an important ally of the UPA-II,” he added.