PM Must Speak More Often In Parliament: Pranab Mukherjee In Last Book

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must listen to the dissenting voices and speak more often in Parliament, using it as a forum to disseminate his views to convince the Opposition and inform the nation, felt former president Pranab Mukherjee.

According to Mr Mukherjee, the mere physical presence of the prime minister in Parliament makes a tremendous difference to the functioning of this institution.

"Whether it was Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh, each of these former PMs made their presence felt on the floor of the House.

"PM Modi, now in his second term, must take inspiration from his predecessors and provide visible leadership, through his enhanced presence in Parliament to avoid situations that had precipitated the parliamentary crisis we witnessed in the first term," Mr Mukherjee wrote in his memoir "The Presidential Years, 2012-2017" which he completed before his death last year. The book, published by Rupa Publications, released on Tuesday.

PM Modi, Mr Mukherjee said, must "listen to the dissenting voices and speak more often in Parliament. He must use it as a forum to disseminate his views to convince the Opposition and inform the nation".

He said during the UPA years, he would resolve difficult issues by remaining in constant touch with the leader of the Opposition and senior leaders of both the UPA and the NDA.