The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday sent invitations to reporters for the closing ceremony of its annual ‘Tritiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg’ ( three years' training camp)to be held in the presence of former President Pranab Mukherjee at Rambagh ground in Nagpur on June 7.
‘Former President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest for the ceremony and the RSS Sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat will also address the gathering,’ read the invitations sent by the RSS's Vishva Samvad Kendra.
The much-hyped Nagpur visit of Mr. Pranab Mukherjee would be watched keenly as it was Mr. Mukherjee who had moved a resolution during a Congress conclave in 2010 to investigate alleged links of the terrorists with the RSS and its sister organisations.
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“Is he not a Hindu? This is not the first time someone from divergent ideology is coming on the RSS platform. You are forgetting that Hedgewar (first RSS chief) was a Congress member before founding this organisation. Jawaharlal Nehru had also invited the RSS members to participate in the Republic Day parade,” an RSS member said on the condition of anonymity when asked about Mr.Mukherjee’s participation.
However, RSS observers said that the RSS was aiming at many targets with one shot as it was concerned with its image.
“One aim is to encourage an anti-Rahul Gandhi faction within the Congress. They are targeting Rahul Gandhi but he is emerging as a leader which the RSS doesn’t want. Somewhere, they also feel that Sangh’s ‘Chal-Charitra-Chehara’ (character and image) is getting affected. The BJP has lost back to back by-elections, especially in Uttar Pradesh. So, the RSS also wants to use Mr. Mukherjee because he is known to be an able administrator and has held the top post,” said S.N Vinod, a senior journalist based in Nagpur.
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Mr.Mukherjee was likely to speak on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda.