New Delhi: Former president Pranab Mukherjee has refuted reports that ‘Pranab Mukherjee Foundation’ is collaborating with the RSS in Haryana.
In a statement issued by Mukherjee’s office, the former president revealed that he would be visiting Gurgaon at the invitation of the Haryana government on September 2 to inaugurate projects started during the last two years under the Smartgram Project.
The statement stated “There have been reports in certain sections of the media suggesting that the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation (PMF) may collaborate with RSS in Haryana. It is categorically clarified that there is neither any existing collaboration nor is there any such move in the offing.”
The statement added, “The Smartgram Project in Haryana started in July 2016, when Pranab Mukherjee adopted some villages as the serving President and he will be visiting Gurgaon at the invitation of the government of Haryana on September 2, 2018 to inaugurate projects started during the last two years along with M.L. Khattar, the Chief Minister”.
It must be recalled that Mukherjee’s presence at an RSS event at the RSS’ Nagpur headquarters had triggered a political storm. He was severely criticised by several opposition leaders criticizing the decision.