Expressing differences is hallmark of democracy: Sharmishta Mukherjee

Congress leader Sharmishta Mukherjee, who is also daughter of former president Pranab Mukherjee, on Saturday, said that she'll continue her harsh stand against the Narendra Modi led-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) despite the Prime Minister's heartfelt letter to her father.

Speaking to ANI about her strongly worded tweet where she criticized Narendra Modi, she said, "There is a lot of mutual respect and regards us. This is merely a difference in our political ideology and opinion."

She added that it is that expressing differences is the hallmark of a democracy.

"The lesson to be learnt is that there can be political differences but one should learn to be moderate in his language & in expressing differences" she said.

Speaking about the differences between the two parties, she said that the Congress strongly opposes a number of policies by the BJP like Demonetisation and the GST.

"The way BJP government has completely overlooked the plight of the farmers is horrendous. These measures are anti-people". She said

In addition to this, she condemned the attacks on Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat.

She said, "It was clear that this was a pre planned attack. This was against the ethos of democracy".

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi wrote a letter to Pranab Mukherjee on his last day as the Presidenty of India. The letter offers glimpses of the Prime Minister's deep respect for Mukherjee, who was one of the senior-most leaders of Modi's arch-rival party, the Congress, before he became President in 2012.