The Kalam Effect: My years with the president

// Based on the reviews of the book in eenadu.net, and NOT by reading the original book.

The Kalam Effect: My years with the president is written by P.M.Nair, secretary of Kalam, when he was the president of India.

In 2004, UPA won the elections, and Congress decided to make Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister. She went to meet the president Kalam, and after the meeting, she proposed Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. At that time, there were many rumours like, Kalam asked Sonia to do not become Prime Minister. P.M.Nair said in the book that, these rumours were not true. He said that, Kalam did not ask Sonia to do not become PM. At the same time, he mentions that, Kalam talked to Sonia for an hour personally (P.M.Nair was not present). Then, how can P.M.Nair say that, Kalam did not ask Sonia to do not become PM?

The author criticizes Kalam for not signing on Office of Profit Bill immediately, and signing only after 17 days. The author says that, the President can send back the bill to parliament once. If the parliament sends the bill again, then president does not have any other option other than accepting. As a secretary to the President, does not the author know that, the president can keep the bill without signing as long as he wishes? If he does not like the bill, he may not sign till his term finishes. It happened twice till now. In the mid-1980s, President Zail Singh withheld assent to a Bill passed by Parliament that gave sweeping powers to the State to intercept mail. This was considered by the President to be an encroachment on citizens' freedom of speech and liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution. In early 1990, President Venkataraman withheld assent to a Bill passed by the outgoing Parliament that gave pension benefits to themselves. This was interpreted by the President to be self-aggrandisement.

I don't like the attitude of the people who write books with so much crap and defaming great personalities, just to get some publicity.

Of course, all these comments are based on the reviews in eenadu.net, and NOT by reading the original book. The reviews are written by the employees/journalists/representatives of eenadu.net, and not by the readers of that news paper.