Mukherjee's long walk as finance minister from 1984

20 May 2009

Pranab Mukherjee, the veteran Congress leader from West Bengal, is almost certain to become the country's new finance minister as commentators have put him ahead in the race with Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.

Mukherjee was temporarily in charge of the finance ministry in the last government after P Chidambaram moved to home ministry in the backdrop of Mumbai terror attack. (See: Security shuffle: A change of rooms for Chidambaram) 

During his latest stint in the finance ministry, Mukherjee presented the interim budget on February 16, 2009, and unveiled a stimulus package that included lowering of retail fuel prices, cutting taxes on consumer products and injecting capital into state-run banks. (See: Budget sops were not needed, government had done enough)

It was exactly a quarter of a century ago in February 1984 that Mukherjee last presented the Budget in the Parliament, when he was the cabinet minister of finance from January 1982 to December 1984 with additional charge of ministry of commerce and supply.

However, with the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 31 October 1984, his fortunes began to dip. From being No. 2 in the cabinet, Mukherjee was banished to the outer darkness of politics by Rajiv Gandhi.

It was another three years later, after Rajiv's assassination in 1991, Narasimha Rao rehabilitated Mukherjee as external affairs minister.