Congress Advises Rahul Gandhi Against Attending RSS Event: Sources

The event, which is expected to focus on “India’s future”, will be held from 17-19 September.

Days after rumours about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mulling inviting Congress President Rahul Gandhi to an event surfaced, reports on Thursday, 30 August, said senior Congress leaders have advised Gandhi not to accept the invitation.

According to ANI, the leaders advised Gandhi to refrain from attending the event, slated to be held in New Delhi in September, in a core group meeting of the Congress on Thursday.

The event, “Future of Bharat: An RSS perspective”, a thee-day lecture series is expected to focus on “India’s future”, will be held from 17-19 September in Vigyan Bhawan, and will be addressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The idea behind the programme is to invite people from different ideologies for the event.

Referring to the programme, RSS spokesperson Arun Kumar said: “It is our prerogative to choose whom to invite or not. People from all walks of life, including from different political outfits, ideologies and religions will be invited,” PTI reported.

“This lecture series has been organised in this context...sarsanghchalak (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwatji will present the Sangh views on various contemporary issues of national importance," Kumar added.

Quoting sources, NDTV reported that the event is also likely to witness the participation of other Opposition leaders like Sitaram Yechury, among others.

This speculation comes amidst Gandhi’s scathing attack on the RSS at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, where he had linked the Sangh to the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned terrorist organisation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, in retaliation, had demanded Gandhi’s apology, with the party spokesperson Sambit Patra calling the Opposition leader a “contract killer of the idea called India”.

In June, when the RSS had invited former President Pranab Mukherjee, also a senior Congress leader, several people from the party had expressed their displeasure at Mukherjee’s acceptance of the invite. However, soon after Mukherjee’s address, the Congress had hailed him, saying that he was “able to show a mirror to the RSS.”

(With inputs from PTI and NDTV)