Ever since he accepted an invitation from the RSS, former president Pranab Mukherjee has been in the news for the shock he delivered with his decision to the Congress.
Stunned members of the grand old party wasted no time in writing to the former Congress stalwart requesting him to reconsider his decision.
Now, days after accepting the invitation, Mukherjee broke his silence.
“Whatever I have to say, I will say in Nagpur. I have received several letters and phone calls but I haven’t responded to anyone yet,” Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika quoted the 82-year-old Mukherjee as saying.
Mukherjee is slated to attend the graduation ceremony of the ‘Tritiya Varsh Varg’, or the Third Year Course, of Sangh pracharaks as the chief guest on 7 June in Nagpur.
Though the rest of the Congress top brass remained mum on the matter, former finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday commented on his UPA colleague’s decision.
“Now that he has accepted invitation there is no point debating why he accepted it,” said Chidambaram on Mukherjee’s acceptance.
“More important thing to say is, sir, you have accepted invitation, please go there (Nagpur) and tell them (the RSS) what is wrong with their ideology,” the 72-year-old senior Congress leader said in his message to Mukherjee.
Read More: Pranab Mukherjee should tell RSS what is wrong with their ideology, says Chidambaram
Supporting the decision of the former president, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari called it “a good precedence to be set in a democracy”.
“Former President Pranab Mukherjee’s acceptance to attend RSS event in Nagpur sends a message to the country that on vital issues there should be dialogue, and adversaries are not enemies,” an ANI report quoted RSS leader Rakesh Sinha as saying.
“Questions raised on RSS-Hindutva is being answered by his acceptance of invitation,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares a very cordial relation with Mukherjee and has on many occasions called the latter a “father figure”.
In July 2017, during the launch of a 340-page photo essay published by The Statesman titled ‘President Pranab Mukherjee – A Statesman’ at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, PM Modi hailed the then president as a great human being and said that there was never a moment in the three years since 2014 when Mukherjee did not treat him like a son.
Read More: Book: President Pranab Mukherjee – A Statesman
Mukherjee, too, had tweeted a letter he received from PM on the last day in office. In his tweet, the former president wrote that the letter “touched his heart”.