French ambassador visits RSS HQ during visit to Nagpur to oversee Metro progress

The official said it was not known what transpired between the two. Foreign diplomats have visited RSS headquarters over the past few years, ever since the Narendra Modi-led government came to power.

Emmanuel Lenain also visited MahaMetro headquarters along with a high-power delegation for an overview of the Nagpur Metro project. (Express Photo)

Written by: Vivek Deshpande

3 min readNagpurFeb 10, 2021 01:23 AM IST First published on: Feb 10, 2021 at 01:23 AM IST

French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain on Tuesday visited the headquarters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and met Sarkaryawah (general secretary) Bhaiyyaji Joshi, among other engagements in the city.

“Lenain was with Joshi for about an hour between 3 and 4 pm,” an RSS official said, adding, “RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat wasn’t in town on Tuesday.”

The official said it was not known what transpired between the two. Foreign diplomats have visited RSS headquarters over the past few years, ever since the Narendra Modi-led government came to power. Earlier in July 2019, German Ambassador Walter Lindner visited the RSS headquarters and met Bhagwat.

The French ambassador came with a delegation to oversee the progress of Nagpur Metro, where French bank AFD is one of the funding agencies. German bank KFW is the major funding partner for the project.

Earlier, consul generals of USA, Australia and Singapore have also visited RSS headquarters.

Lenain also visited Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between French Dassault Aviation and Indian Reliance Group. It was established in MIHAN SEZ area as part of the Indo-French Rafale deal. Lenain also visited the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), where skills related to aerospace unit are being imparted to workers under a French instruction programme.

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The French diplomat also visited the office of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, where he met civic chief Radhakrishnan B. The two sides discussed the possibility of French assistance in the Nag river rejuvenation project. A civic official said, “The NMC enquired with the French ambassador if France could help in Nag river rejuvenation project. The ambassador promised to look into the possibility of French assistance for the project.”

Lenain also visited MahaMetro headquarters along with a high-power delegation for an overview of the Nagpur Metro project.

A Nagpur Metro press note said Lenain was impressed with the Nagpur Metro project. He said he was particularly impressed with the concern for environment protection shown by MahaMetro by using solar panels at different locations and plantation of trees. He lauded the team for doing “a great job”, the press note further stated.

The delegation also travelled in the Metro train from Vasudeo Nagar to Sitabuldi Interchange.