As former President Pranab Mukherjee maintained silence on the controversy over him accepting an invitation to address an event at the RSS headquarters next month, more Congress leaders on Wednesday questioned his decision and asked him to reconsider it. Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, wrote to the former President, stating that his decision has come as a “rude shock” to “secular minds” in the country. The Sangh’s vision of creating a “Hindu rashtra, comprising only one section of the population, is in sharp contrast with the Congress ideology of secularism and democracy”, he wrote. ALSO READ | Pranab Mukherjee to address RSS event: ‘Accepted invite, now tell RSS what’s wrong with its ideology’ Expressing surprise over Mukherjee’s decision, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked, “Does he (Mukherjee) think his previous comments against the RSS were wrong?. We still remember how Pranab Mukherjee, as a senior leader of the Congress, had criticised the RSS as a communal and divisive organisation.” Chennithala wrote: “I am extremely sorry to say that your decision to attend the function organised by a communal outfit has come as a rude shock to the secular minds in this country.”
