Amid criticism and disapproval from opposition parties, former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday is speaking at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event in Nagpur on Thursday evening.
A controversy had erupted after Mukherjee had accepted an invite from the RSS to be the chief guest at its Tritiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg' (cadres training programme) and address their workers at their headquarters in Nagpur.
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Several Congress leaders urged him to reconsider his decision.
The former president's daughter and Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee disapproved of his decision, saying he was giving the BJP and the Sangh a handle to plant false stories, as his "speech will be forgotten" but the "visuals will remain".
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Taking to Twitter, she hoped the former president would realise how the BJP's "dirty tricks department" works and said that with his visit, he was giving the BJP and RSS "full handle to plant false stories".
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel expressed his disapproval and said he did not expect this from him. Patel, who is UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's close confidant and has been her political secretary, voiced his view on Twitter, in reply to Mukherjee's daughter.
Mukherjee has said that he will reveal his thoughts on the matter during the event itself.
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Here are the live updates:
8.30pm: It was this very nationalism that Pandit Nehru so vividly expressed in the book 'Discovery of India', he wrote, "I am convinced that nationalism can only come out of the ideological fusion of Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs and other groups in India.": Pranab Mukherjee in Nagpur.
8.20 pm: Any attempt at defining our nationhood in terms of dogma and identities or religion, region, hatred and intolerance will only lead to dilution of our identity: Pranab Mukherjee at RSS's Tritiya Varsh event.
8.10 pm: I am here amongst you to share my understanding with you of the concepts of nation, nationalism and patriotism in the context of India: Pranab Mukherjee at RSS's Tritiya Varsh event in Nagpur
7.40 pm: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat thanks Mukherjee for taking time to understand his organisation. "This is an annual event. Debates around it why and how we invited Pranab Mukherjee are needless."
6.40 pm: RSS flag being unfurled at Tritiya Varsh event, in Nagpur, where Mukherjee is the chief guest.
6.10pm: "Today is a very fitting day to bring you all a primer on what the RSS really stands for," tweets Congress
5.40pm: Mukherjee visited the birth place of the RSS founding Sarsanghachalak Keshav Baliram Hedgewar ahead of his much-anticipated speech. Mukherjee was welcomed by the RSS chief Bhagwat.
According to sources, this visit to pay tributes to Hedgewar was not part of Mukherjee's scheduled itinerary and an impromptu decision was taken by the former president to do so.
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Mahatma Gandhi, former president Zakir Husain, activist Jayaprakash Narayan and commander-in-chief of the Indian Army, Kodandera M. Cariappa had previously been guests at various RSS events.
Earlier, the RSS said that it is the greatness of the former president and Congress leader to accept their invitation to address their workers in Nagpur.
(With agency inputs)
