Pranab Mukherjee conferred with Bharat Ratna: Proud moment, tweet children

Former President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee and daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee on Thursday were elated at their father being conferred with the highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna at a grand ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Pranab was honoured with the Bharat Ratna by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Hailing Pranab as 'Jewel of India', Abhijit prayed for his long and healthy life.

"From the remote village of Miraty, Birbhum, West Bengal to become the "Jewel of India", we have cherished every footstep of him in our journey together. I pray for his long and healthy life ahead. Proud to be your son Baba," he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Sharmistha tweeted, "Feeling grateful to God for letting me be my parents' daughter. A proud moment."

Mukherjee was greeted on receiving the accolade by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and a slew of other leaders who were present at the ceremony.

Born on December 11, 1935, in a Bengali family in Mirati, a village in Birbhum district in West Bengal, Mukherjee completed his Masters in Political Science and History and LLB degree from University of Calcutta.

Mukherjee's life-long political career spanned about five decades, during which he held various key posts in the Congress as well as in the governments led by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

The 83-year-old served as India's 13th President from 2012-2017, but prior to his election to the post, Mukherjee also served as the Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.As Finance Minister, Mukherjee signed the letter appointing Manmohan Singh as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

( With inputs from ANI )