Recalling his association with Pranab Mukherjee, who demitted office as President of India on Monday, Union Minister Arun Jaitley praised his ‘non-partisan’ approach to dealing with the Narendra Modi government as its ‘advisor and guide’.

In an article, ‘Reflections as the President Retires’, Jaitley reflected on how he saw ‘Pranabda’ grow in stature both as a politician and as a learned statesman.

“Pranabda exhibited a unique charm which won him many admirers. It made dealing with him a matter of delight. He put all his interlocutors at ease. He grew in stature with each day. His transformation from a senior minister to a President was exemplary," Jaitley wrote.

“As President he was completely non-partisan and conducted himself as an advisor and a guide to his governments. He owned up the programmes of the government and became their advocate. He once told me that he had the unique privilege of moving before Parliament the Constitution amendment of Goods and Services Tax. He wanted to approve the Constitution amendment during his tenure as the President. It gave him great satisfaction when he did so,” the minister said.

Underlining his commitment to constitutional propriety, Jaitley said Pranab Mukherjee would accord his approval to any government decision only after having satisfied himself about its conformity to the norms of the Constitution.

“He (Pranada) realised that in a democracy there could only be one power centre i.e. elected Government and the Prime Minister. He, therefore, actively associated with two different governments during his presidency with equal ease.

He ensured that all decisions of the Council of Ministers had to conform to constitutional propriety.

"On some occasions, he wanted to be satisfied before he accorded his approval to those decisions. I was usually sent to interact with him. He was always well prepared on facts, on Constitutional requirements and the need for fairness. These essentials had to be balanced with the requirement of the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers being forwarded to him. This delicate balance he maintained throughout his tenure. He always accepted the advise of the Council of Ministers,” Jaitley wrote.