Former President Pranab Mukherjee at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Thursday. (Twitter/@RSSorg)
Veteran BJP leader LK Advani lauded former President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday for accepting the invitation from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to speak at an event in Nagpur and described the visit as a “significant event in our country’s contemporary history”.
“Yesterday’s visit by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India’s former President, to the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur, and his illuminating exposition of the noble idea and ideals of Indian nationalism, are a significant event in our country’s contemporary history,” the senior BJP leader said in a statement.
Saying there was significant concord and resonance in the views expressed both by the veteran Congress leader and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Advani said the duo had truly set a praiseworthy example of dialogue transcending ideological affiliations and differences.
“Both of them highlighted the essential unity of India, which accepts and respects all diversities, including pluralism of faiths,” the BJP leader said in the statement.
Speaking on Mukherjee’s long-term association with the grand old party, Advani said the former president had shown grace and goodwill by accepting the RSS invite.
“I have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing, and working closely with, Shri Pranab Babu in and outside Parliament. His own reflective nature, combined with his long and varied experience in public life, have made him a statesman who strongly believes in the necessity of dialogue and cooperation among people of various ideological and political backgrounds,” the veteran BJP leader said.
Advani also expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by the RSS to reach out to various sections of the nation in the spirit of dialogue.
“I am happy that, under the leadership of Shri Bhagwat ji, the RSS has expanded and intensified its efforts to reach out to various sections of our nation in the spirit of dialogue. Such conversations, conducted in the spirit of openness and mutual respect, will surely help in creating a much-needed atmosphere of tolerance, harmony and cooperation to build an India of our common dreams,” he said.
Togadia slams Mukherjee
However, former Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) head Pravin Togadia slammed the Congress veteran for not talking about the views of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on nationalism in his speech.
“Mukherjee mentioned the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on nationalism during his speech yesterday. But he made no mention of Hedgewar and Savarkar’s views on nationalism,” Togadia told reporters at the Indore Press Club.
“There are two ideologies on nationalism in the country- first propagated by Gandhi and Nehru, while the other one that of Hedgewar and Savarkar,” he said.