Did not know Rashtrapati Bhavan enough when I took over: Mukherjee

New Delhi, July 25: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that when he entered Rashtrapati Bhavan four years ago, he hardly knew it despite the fact that having lived nearby for over four decades.

"I had spent 43 years of my life nearby the Rashtrapati Bhavan but I had no idea about it," he said while remembering his last four years which he has spent there.

Mukherjee however said that after seeing it closely, he thought of making it people-friendly by allowing more and more commoners to visit it on regular basis.

"This magnificent building belongs to the people of India and it should remain open for them," he said.

The President along with Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also inaugurated a museum in the Rashtrpati Bhavan complex to mark his four years as the president.

IANS