‘When baba passed away … ‘: Why Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha alleged ‘rot’ in Congress party | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Former President Pranab Mukherjee‘s daughter Sharmistha alleged that a “real rot” had seeped into the Congress party as she accused the party of orchestrating a relentless trolling campaign against her and her father across social media platforms. The comments came after she raised doubts as to why no Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet was held to condole her father’s demise.
“The whole Congress ecosystem, as in, its social media was relentlessly trolling me and my father over this and some other issues. The kind of language that was used on me and one of the tallest leaders like my father shows that there is a real rot in the Congress,” she told PTI.
“The Congress, rather than unleashing trolls on social media, should do serious introspection that why a person like me who believed in the hardcore Congress ideology, today feels alienated by the party,” she added.
Sharmistha made headlines recently after she criticised the grand old party for raising doubts over the funeral venue of former PM Manmohan Singh, who passed away on Friday.
“When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only,” she said in a post on X.

Amid the controversy surrounding the proposal to set up a memorial for former Singh, Sharmistha said that she would not engage in the debate, as she was no longer part of the Congress and has retired from politics.
However, she advocated for a memorial in Singh’s honor and recommended that the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, be posthumously conferred upon the former prime minister.
“I would not like to say anything about this, I am not associated with the Congress anymore, I have quit politics. The Congress needs to clarify what Rahul Gandhi has said,” she said.
“I think the demand to have a memorial for Manmohan Singh is absolutely justified. He was the architect of economic reforms in India, he was the father of India’s growth story, he was a two-time prime minister. So the demand for a memorial in his honour is absolutely justified. Also, on behalf of the ordinary citizens of India, I demand Bharat Ratna for him, he thoroughly deserves it,” she added.
Meanwhile, reacting to the controversy BJP member NV Subhash, the grandson of former PM PV Narasimha Rao, accused the Congress of disrespecting Rao after his death.
He pointed out that despite Rao spending much of his life in Delhi, Congress had promised to build a memorial for him in Hyderabad. Subhash criticized the party, claiming that its hypocrisy had been exposed and that Congress was playing petty politics driven by the whims of its dynastic leadership.