Pranab Mukherjee Launches Book on LM Singhvi’s Writings, Hails the ‘Vibgyor Man’

New Delhi: Referring to LM Singhvi as a “true renaissance man”, former President Pranab Mukherjee hailed his contribution in the setting up of the institution of Lokayukta while launching a book on the late parliamentarian and jurist’s writings on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of India’s Vibgyor Man: Selected Writings and Speeches of L.M. Singhvi in the national capital, Mukherjee said, “LM Singhvi was a Vibgyor mind with a Vibgyor temperament. He felt genuinely and strongly that all colours had had a claim to our chromatic appreciation.”

Recollecting his days with Singhvi, the father of Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mukherjee also talked about their relationship. “Our paths crossed on many occasions, especially when he was India’s High Commissioner to the UK. He was a jurist, an envoy, a politician, a poet and a prolific writer. He was a scholar and a traditionalist. He was truly a renaissance man,” he said.

He also evoked LM Singhvi’s efforts in building the ‘Diaspora Project’, and credited him for setting up a separate ministry. “In one year, the High Powered Cabinet Ranked Committee of LM Singhvi produced the most comprehensive diaspora report ever. A separate Ministry for it, dual citizenship, PIO cards, celebration of the return day of India’s most famous NRI on January 9, the day Gandhiji returned, were institutionalised,” Mukherjee said.

Speaking about Singhvi’s long and vibrant tenure as the High Commissioner to Britain, Mukherjee said that in his seven-year-long term, Singhvi had evoked bipartisan support from across the political spectrum.

The book, which is edited by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, has around 25 articles by the diplomat on a range of themes.

The book launch was also attended by Union minister Nitin Gadkari and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma among others.

Recommending the book to students of governance, Mukherjee said, “The themes and sub-themes addressed in the book are truly timeless and transcend politics, political parties, governments and current events.”