Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday arrived in Nagpur on Wednesday. (File)
Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday arrived in Nagpur to attend the concluding ceremony of the RSS’s Tritiya Varsh Training programme. Mukherjee, who has been critical of the RSS as a Congress leader, will address its activists in Nagpur on Thursday. This will be his first speech from the RSS platform. Soon after Mukherjee landed in Nagpur, he was welcomed by a huge entourage of RSS workers, who were seen handing bouquets to the chief guest.
Former President of India Dr.Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Nagpur. He is the chief guest at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) program tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ueAqLyFHj8
— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2018
Accepting an invitation from the Hindutva group has sparked controversy, with some of his former Congress colleagues and Left leaders expressing their reservations over his participation in the RSS meeting. However, Mukherjee, who has remained unfazed by the controversy, said he would put all speculations to rest during his speech. “Whatever I have to say, I will say in Nagpur. I have received several letters, requests, and phone calls, but I haven’t responded to anyone yet,” the former president had told a Bengali daily.
#WATCH RSS members welcome Former President of India Dr. Pranab Mukherjee on his arrival at Nagpur airport. He is the chief guest at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) program tomorrow (Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/vmLg23M7ni
— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2018
While former finance minister P Chidambaram urged Mukherjee to tell the RSS what was wrong with their ideology, Jairam Ramesh requested the former president to not attend the event.
READ | Welcome to Nagpur, Pranab da
Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, in a letter to the former president, wrote that his decision had come as a “rude shock” to “secular minds” in the country, while Abhishek Manu Singhvi defended Mukherjee.