NEW DELHI: The BJP patriarch L K Advani hailed former President Pranab Mukherjee’s address on Thursday at the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, terming it as a significant event in the country’s contemporary history.
Commenting a day after Mukherjee’s address at Nagpur, Advani opined that “such conversations, conducted in the spirit of openness and mutual respect, will surely help in creating a much-needed atmosphere of tolerance, harmony and cooperation to build an India of our common dreams”.
The veteran BJP leader complimented RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat saying that under his leadership, the ideological mentor of the BJP has expanded and intensified efforts to reach out to various sections of nation in the spirit of dialogue.
“Mukherjee’s Thursday visit to the headquarters of the RSS in Nagpur, and his illuminating exposition of the noble idea and ideals of Indian nationalism, are a significant event in our country’s contemporary history. I warmly commend Bhagwat for inviting Mukherjee to address the swayamsevaks who completed the third year of their training this year,” Advani added.
The BJP leader noted that “there was significant concord and resonance in the views expressed by both the leaders”. Both of them highlighted the essential unity of India, which accepts and respects all diversities, including the pluralism of faiths, stated Advani.
The BJP leader, who was made a member of the Margdarshak mandal of the party in 2014, also stated that Mukherjee and Bhagwat have truly set a praiseworthy example of dialogue transcending ideological affiliations and differences.
“I have had the pleasure and privilege of knowing, and working closely with, Pranab Babu in and outside the Parliament. His own reflective nature, combined with his long and varied experience in public life, have made him a statesman who strongly believes in the necessity of dialogue and cooperation among people of various ideological and political backgrounds,” Advani said.
What Advani said
Mukherjee and Bhagwat have set a praiseworthy example of dialogue transcending ideological affiliations and differences
Both of them highlighted the essential unity of India, which accepts and respects all diversities, including the pluralism of faiths
Such conversations will help in creating a much-needed atmosphere of tolerance in the country