When President Pranab Mukherjee profusely praised PM Modi

The President called PM Modi a quick learner.

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Updated: Saturday, March 18, 2017, 9:27 [IST]

Mumbai, March 18: After winning the hearts of the voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to garner praises from President Pranab Mukherjee. It is not often that we see the President 'openly' praising politicians as his post demands neutrality, however, on Friday, it was a different sight. At a conclave hosted by India Today in Mumbai on Friday, the President said PM Modi is a quick learner and does things in own style.

"Present Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his own ways of doing things. We must give credit to him. He is a quick learner. He has picked up quickly from being the head of a federal state to lead the nation by mastering over foreign relations, external economy and internal factors," President Mukherjee said.

President PM — File picture of President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Narendra Modi

During his address, attended by who's who from various fields, the President also revealed that he was going to retire from active politics as his tenure is coming to an end in a few months from now. He added that after retirement he would go back to his native place in West Bengal and lead Durga Puja at his home as long as he can. Thus we can say that the President is not looking for a second-term.

According to the President, the five most influential PM during his long political career are Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Modi. In his address, the outgoing president lamented the 'decaying proceedings in Parliament'.

Mukherjee said, "In the first Lok Sabha (1952-57), there were 677 sittings and 319 bills were passed, whereas in the 15th Lok Sabha, only 357 sittings took place and 181 bills were passed. This happened due to disruptions, which is unacceptable to me. The first budget was of Rs 397 crore, whereas the size of the latest budget is Rs 17 lakh crore. Make a comparison of the time spent on discussions on expenditures! Nobody has the moral authority to disrupt or stall the proceedings of the House at the cost of taxpayers' money."

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