Pranab Mukherjee's Morphed Picture At RSS Event Goes Viral, Sharmistha Says 'Warned My Father'

Hours after Pranab Mukherjee addressed  a key RSS event, a morphed picture of the former Indian president taking a Sangh-style salute began circulating in social media on Friday, prompting his politician daughter to lash out at the Hindu right wing for playing “dirty tricks”.

Octogenarian Mukherjee had, at a valedictory ceremony at the RSS headquarter in Nagpur on Thursday evening, stood on the dais, flanked by top Sangh leaders including the organisation’s current chief Mohan Bhagwat, but—unlike the others—with both his hands hung down. Overnight, that image found a fake representation: the 82-year-old Congress veteran is seen having placed his right hand parallel to the ground, with the palm close to his chest in apparent reverence.

As the doctored photo began going viral on Facebook and Twitter, an angry Sharmistha Mukherjee, who is the ex-president’s daughter and a senior functionary of the Delhi unit of the Congress party, came out in protest. The 52-year-old leader also pointed out that she had expressed apprehensions about the possibility of political rivals spreading wrong messages about her father attending an RSS event.

Responding to a tweet, showing the morphed picture of Mukherjee, Sharmistha said: ” See, this is exactly what I was fearing & warned my father about. Not even few hours have passed, but BJP/RSS dirty tricks dept is at work in full swing!”

Sharmistha, who heads the Mahila Congress and the media department of the Delhi Congress, had cautioned her father that his speech would be forgotten but the visuals would remain, giving the BJP/RSS a "full handle" to plant false stories and spread rumours.

 "Hope @CitiznMukherjee now realises from todays' incident, how BJP dirty tricks dept operates. Even RSS wouldn't believe that u r going 2 endorse its views in ur speech. But the speech will be forgotten, visuals will remain & those will be circulated with fake statements," she said.

READ ALSO: Pranab Mukherjee At RSS Event: Intolerance Will Only Dilute India's Identity

Mukherjee also said theirs was a "democratic, argumentative family" and she had no problem expressing differences with her father in public.

It is a lesson she learnt from her father, Sharmistha Mukherjee, who has publicly opposed the former president visiting the RSS headquarters and delivering a speech there, said in response to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's reported comments backing her.

 "This is something you must grow up to. My own daughter doesn't agree with my views and I don't agree with hers. But we are a happy family. We must learn that individuals have opinions," Swamy was reported as saying.

 "Exactly! That's how I grew up, & that's why I don't have any problem expressing my differences with him on issues even in public. We are a democratic, argumentative family; & I learnt this from my father only," Sharmistha Mukherjee replied on Twitter.

Earlier, on Wednesday, she had warned Mukherjee, saying: "Hope @CitiznMukherjee now realises from todays’ incident, how BJP dirty tricks dept operates. Even RSS wouldn’t believe that u r going 2 endorse its views in ur speech. But the speech will be forgotten, visuals will remain & those will be circulated with fake statements.

 Warning that hatred and intolerance diluted national identity, the former president on Thursday spoke from the RSS platform to declare that nationalism was not bound by race or religion and called for dialogue to reconcile differences.

 "This plurality of our society has come through assimilation of ideas over centuries. Secularism and inclusion are a matter of faith for us. It is our composite culture which makes us into one nation. India's nationhood is not one language, one religion, one enemy," he said at a gathering attended by RSS top brass and hundreds of 'pracharaks'.

 He also said that in a democracy, informed and reasoned public engagement on all issues of national importance is essential.

 "A dialogue is necessary not only to balance the competing interests but also to reconcile them. Divergent strands in public discourse have to be recognised. We may argue, we may agree, or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Only through a dialogue can we develop the understanding to solve complex problems without an unhealthy strife within our polity," he said.

 He told the gathering comprising young graduates that India has lived with pain and strife for long enough.

 "You are young, disciplined, well trained and highly educated. Please wish for peace, harmony and happiness. Our Motherland is asking for that. Our Motherland deserves that," he said.

 Mukherjee, while explaining his idea of 'nation, nationalism and patriotism' in the context of India, said the country's nationalism flows from our Constitution.

"The construct of Indian nationalism is constitutional patriotism, which consists of an appreciation of our inherited and shared diversity; a readiness to enact one's citizenship at different levels; the ability to self-correct and learn from others," he said.

 (With PTI inputs)