WB Congress chief 'surprised' over Pranab Mukherjee's decision to attend RSS event

West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury on Wednesday expressed surprise over former President Pranab Mukherjee's decision to attend an RSS occasion and said he is finding it hard to relate it with Mukherjee's earlier comments against the saffron organisation.

"My question is does he (Mukherjee) think his previous comments against RSS were wrong ... We still remember how Pranab Mukherjee as a senior leader of the Congress had criticized RSS as a communal and a divisive organization," Chowdhury said.

Mukherjee, who has been a Congress veteran, has been invited to be the chief guest at a function of Sangh Shiksha Varg that is a training camp for RSS volunteers at the organisation's headquarters in Nagpur on June 7.

According to an RSS functionary, the former President has gratefully accepted the invitation.

"I am really surprised to hear about the decision of Pranab Mukherjee to attend RSS's program in Nagpur. Just like any other Congressman, I am really astonished to hear about it," Chowdhury said.

However, Pranab Mukherjee is no longer President, nor a Congress leader, and hence, is free to take any decision, he said.

"I can't say what prompted him to take such a decision," said Chowdhury, who has shared a long association with Mukherjee.