For a person considered number two in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and leader of the lower house of parliament, Pranab Mukherjee stays in a rather small official bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi. And the reason is simple – his wife.
“I’m quite happy here. But more importantly, Mrs. Mukherjee became tired of shifting,” admitted the 74-year-old softspoken Mukherjeee at an informal lunch for the top brass of his ministry and a few journalists over a spread that included shorshe ilish (hilsa fish in mustard sauce).
True to his sharp memory, the MP from Jangipur also went on to spell out the addresses, replete with door numbers, of each of the dozen-odd flats and bungalows he has occupied in the capital since he was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1969.
rounak