Congress leader Ahmed Patel. (File Photo/PTI)
Joining the voices of discontent within the party over former President Pranab Mukherjee attending a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) event in Nagpur, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's political advisor Ahmed Patel on Thursday said that Mukherjee's decision has left Congress disappointed.
"I did not expect this from Pranab da!" Patel, Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, tweeted. Ahmed Patel's remarks underlines the discomfort within the party over Pranab Mukherjee's decision to participate in RSS' 'Tritiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg' event as the chief guest.
Ahmed Patel's tweet came hours after Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha disapproved of his decision, saying he was giving the BJP and the Sangh a handle to plant false stories, as his "speech will be forgotten" but the "visuals will remain".
Taking to Twitter, she hoped the former president would realise how the BJP's "dirty tricks department" works and said that with his visit, he was giving the BJP and RSS "full handle to plant false stories".
She also warned her father of the consequences of attending such a meet.
Her outburst came soon after rumours about her joining the BJP cropped up ahead of Mukherjee's visit to Nagpur tomorrow.
She dismissed such "rumours" of her joining the BJP as "false" and alleged they were the handiwork of BJP's "dirty tricks department".
She said she would rather leave politics than quit the Congress.
"Hope @CitiznMukherjee now realises from todays' incident, how BJP dirty tricks dept operates. Even RSS wouldn't believe that u r going 2 endorse its views in ur speech. But the speech will be forgotten, visuals will remain & those will be circulated with fake statements," she said in a series of tweets.
The visit has already given rise to a lot of speculation and a host of Congress leaders have urged the former president to review his decision for the sake of secularism.
WATCH: Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Nagpur to take part in RSS event
(With inputs from agencies)
