Morphed-photo of Pranab surfaces, daughter Sharmistha says 'told you so'
What's the story
Soon after former President Pranab Mukherjee attended the RSS's Tritiya Varsh Training programme in Nagpur on Thursday, a morphed picture of him doing the RSS-style salute surfaced on social media. This prompted his daughter and Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee to pen her thoughts on Twitter. She quipped this was the very reason she didn't want him to attend the event. Here are more details.
What happened
In reality, Pranab neither wore cap nor did RSS salute
At the event, that kicked a political row, the 82-year-old Congress veteran neither wore the cap nor did RSS salute. Before his speech, Sharmistha had expressed her displeasure and said BJP and RSS would indulge in cheap tactics. She said her father's speech will be forgotten but his visuals would be circulated along with fake statements. She also refuted rumors of joining BJP.
Twitter Post
BJP, RSS dirty tricks in full swing, Sharmistha tweets
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! https://t.co/dII3nBSxb6
— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) June 7, 2018
What he said
At RSS home, Pranab told India's soul depends on tolerance
As all eyes were set on Pranab Mukherjee, the leader spoke about tolerance and slammed political untouchability. Stressing on the importance of dialogue, he added, "We may argue, we may agree, or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion." He went on to say society should be rid of violence of any form.
Details
After event, Congress tells RSS to learn from his speech
Calling Pranab Mukherjee's speech a 'lesson in true Indian philosophy', Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked RSS to learn from it. "Let RSS and BJP today publicly commit to change its character and thought process, and accept the sagacious advice of its guest," he said. The Congress asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to learn 'Raj Dharma' from Mukherjee's speech.
Quote
Meanwhile, RSS was pleased with Mukherjee's speech
"Mukherjee's speech defined the RSS ideology that we are a 'one nation' with a dignified history that assimilates different religions and culture," said RSS communication head Arun Kumar later. He said it helped RSS trainees understand there shouldn't be any ideological untouchability.