A day after former president Pranab Mukherjee told an RSS gathering an attempt to “define India through religion, hatred, dogmas and intolerance would dilute our existence,” several Congress leaders came out in support of the veteran.
There were, however, some dissenting voices too as former Union Minister Manish Tewari questioned the visit, while another former minister Shakeel Ahmed talked about a morphed photo of Thursday’s event.
Officially, the Congress praised Mr. Mukherjee for showing a “mirror of truth’’ to the Sangh. Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram tweeted, “Happy that Mr. Pranab Mukherjee told the RSS what is right about Congress’ ideology. It was his way of saying what is wrong about RSS’ ideology.”
Senior leader Anand Sharma, who had tweeted on Wednesday that the image of Mr. Mukherjee at the RSS headquarters had hurt Congress workers, heaped praise on him after the speech.
“Pranam Pranab da, you have emerged proud and taller from Nagpur. There was never any doubt about your strength of character, moral courage, conviction and commitment to uphold the secular constitutional democracy. You told the RSS about the richness and diversity of India’s pluralism. Hope they will reflect and absorb your message,” Mr. Sharma said on twitter.
“Very happy that my stand from day one fully vindicated viz don’t judge a man by the invitation or the host’s identity but by what he says and does at the event…He is first ex-Congman to give some lessons to the RSS,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
But former minister Manish Tewari was stinging in his criticism and, in a series of tweets, asked the former president to explain his change of heart.
“May I ask you a question that you still have not answered that is bothering millions of secularists and pluralists. Why did you choose to go to the RSS headquarters and deliver homilies on nationalism?” asked Mr. Tewari and pointed out that Mr. Mukherjee had been part of governments that banned the RSS.
“You were a part of the Govt that banned the RSS in 1975 and then again in 1992. Don’t you think you should tell us what was evil about the RSS then that has become virtuous now? Either what we were told then was wrong or your lending respectability if not legitimacy to the RSS by the act of association is not kosher given your stature in public life,” he said and claimed that the visit would be used to “mainstream” the RSS.
Interestingly, Mr. Tewari’s sharp attack is closer to the position taken by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi who is scheduled to appear in a defamation case filed by the RSS at a Maharashtra court for blaming them for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Tagging a photoshopped image of Mr. Mukherjee doing an RSS salute that has gone viral on social media, former Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmed tweeted, “Apprehensions of @Sharmistha_GK about RSS were 100% correct when she said, speech will be forgotten but visuals will remain and distortions with fake statements will follow. Within minutes of Pranab Da’s return, they were at it. See both, the original and the photoshopped image.”