Former president Pranab Mukherjee breaks the silence in RSS ceremony

Former president Pranab Mukherjee has voiced by accepting the invitation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event that he will be attending in Nagpur on June 7. He told a Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika whatever he has to say, he will say in Nagpur. “Whatever I have to say, I will say in Nagpur,” he told the daily. He also confirmed that he had received letters and phone calls but he has not yet responded to any of those, as quoted by Anandabazar Patrika.

A huge uproar in the political arena followed after the senior Congress leader accepted the invite to the RSS function.

He had been receiving letters or calls by senior party leaders such as Jairam Ramesh, CK Jaffer Sharief and Ramesh Chennithala, who have urged him to reconsider his decision to attend the event. Chennithala, who is the leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly, wrote to the former president that his decision came as a “rude shock to the secular minds” and asked him to not attend the event.

Pranab Mukherjee is set to address Sangh workers at their ‘Tritya Varsh Varg’ – the third year of their course – on June 7 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Chennithala accused the RSS of aiming to create a “Hindu Rashtra” and he said that this ideology is against that of Congress’ ideology of democracy and secularism.

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Anandabazar Patrika also quoted Jairam Ramesh, who said, “What happened suddenly that a great leader like Pranab Mukherjee who guided us all through his political career, is now going to attend RSS event to deliver a speech.”While some Congress leader was seen miffed by the developments, former finance minister and another Congress top brass P Chidambaram said that Mukherjee should go to Nagpur and visit the RSS headquarters.

However, he requested his former colleague to tell the RSS workers to tell what is wrong with their ideology. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Nitin Gadkari said had said, “The RSS is not Pakistan’s ISI. The RSS is an organisation of nationalists.”