New Delhi: Sharmishtha Mukherjee on Saturday attributed the award of Bharat Ratna declared for Pranab Mukherjee to his struggle.
“My father has struggled very hard to come to this achievement. Whosoever has been there in his long and eventful journey, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to them,” she said.
On Friday, former President Pranab Mukherjee’s name was declared for India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, along with noted singer Bhupen Hazarika and noted social worker Nanaji Deshmukh, both posthumously.
Expressing her deepest gratitude to the people who have supported her father in his long and eventful journey, Sharmistha said: “It is a great joy and proud moment for the entire family.”
Sharmistha also shared that her father started his journey from a remote village of Bengal, where there was no development, no roads and no electricity.
“He had to travel around 10 km every day to go to school. From there to the achievement of Bharat Ratna, it has been a very hard journey for him,” she said.
While getting a bit emotional on this prestigious moment, she said: “My mother has contributed silently to his success. We are missing her and I really wish she was here with us today.”
Soon after the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced the award on Friday, Mukherjee also expressed his gratitude towards the people of India.
“It is with a deep sense of humility and gratitude to the people of India that I accept this great honour #BharatRatna bestowed upon me. I have always said and I repeat, that I have got more from the people of our great country than I have given to them. #CitizenMukherjee,” Mukherjee wrote.
Mukherjee’s political career spanned about five decades, during which he held various key posts in the Congress governments led by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]