Former President Pranab Mukherjee, a stalwart of Indian politics, breathed his last on Monday at the Army Hospital in New Delhi. He was 84.
Pranab Mukherjee had turned nostalgic in his last speech in Parliament on July 23, 2017, which he made exactly 48 years and one day after he first attended a session in "this living institution".
In his farewell speech to Parliamentarians in the Central Hall, he had remembered that he was only 34 years when he first entered the portals of this "hallowed institution" as a member of Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.
"My election to Rajya Sabha took place on 4 July and the first session I attended began on 22 July, 1969," he had said in the House as he travelled back in time.
However, he also had said, "as I retire from the Office of the President of the Republic, my association with the Parliament also comes to an end. I will no longer be a part of the Parliament of India. It will be with a tinge of sadness and a rainbow of memories that I will be leaving this magnificent building today."
The late former president remembered that when he entered Parliament at a time when Rajya Sabha was full of experienced parliamentarians and leaders of the freedom movement, many of whom were brilliant speakers. He referred to MC Chagla, Ajit Prasad Jain, Jairamdas Daulatram, Bhupesh Gupta, Joachim Alva, Mahavir Tyagi, Raj Narain, Bhai Mahavir, Loknath Misra and Chitta Basu and many more.
"In fact, Bhupesh Gupta was truly a legend in the Rajya Sabha. Dahyabhai Patel and Maniben Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s son and daughter, represented Swatantra Party in the Parliament," he had said in his address.
He had said in the speech he was further enriched by the wisdom of P V Narasimha Rao, who brought back him into prominence after political wilderness for some time.
He also acknowledged the oratory skills of BJP stalwart A B Vajpayee, cryptic one-liners of socialists Madhu Limaye and Dr Nath Pai, wit and humour of Piloo Modi, poetic discourses of Left leader Hiren Mukherjee, razor-sharp repartee of CPI's Indrajit Gupta, calming presence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, mature advice of BJP stalwart LK Advani and passionate support of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on social legislations.
Though his Parliament membership ended in July 2012 after he took over as President, he said, he still continued to have a "tenacious link" with this institution and became an integral part of it as the President of Republic, as per the Constitution.
"In these five years, my principal responsibility was to function as the guardian of the Constitution. As I had said on oath, I strived to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution, not just in word but also in spirit," he had said.
As he took leave of the MPs, he had said, "I leave with a sense of fulfilment and happiness of having served the people of this great country through this institution- as their humble servant."