The iftar party also served as a show of strength by the opposition as efforts continue to cobble together a coalition that can dislodge the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee and Rahul Gandhi were seen deep in conversation at an iftar party thrown by the Congress chief Wednesday night, days after the former President’s address at an RSS event seemingly alienated him from many party colleagues.
The iftar party also served as a show of strength by the opposition as efforts continue to cobble together a coalition that can dislodge the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
This was Pranab’s first meeting with Rahul after the address. Incidentally, the Congress chief just returned from Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi just earlier in the day after appearing in court for a case filed against him by an RSS worker over his allegation that the Sangh was involved in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
Rahul and Pranab, who is said to have been the brain behind a Congress resolution linking the RSS with terror, sat side-by-side at a table also occupied by former President Pratibha Patil, former Vice-President (VP) Hamid Ansari, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, BSP leader Satish Mishra, DMK leader Kanimozhi and TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi.
Sources said invitations to the former presidents and VP weren’t part of the plan initially, but it was feared that not inviting Mukherjee would be seen as “retaliation” in the wake of his RSS address.
It was only late Monday night that the party confirmed the invitation and their attendance.
Another table seated former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P.J. Kurien, Manoj Jha of the RJD, JD(S) leader Danish Ali, the NCP’s D.P. Tripathi, and former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav.
Seen at a third table were senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot with some other opposition leaders.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi wasn’t in attendance.
But for two parties, the J&K National Conference (NC) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), all the parties that received an invitation for the iftar party sent a representative.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav had said earlier on Wednesday that while he won’t be able to go, someone from his party will. “An SP leader was supposed to come but got stuck somewhere at the last moment,” said senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was on his feet through much of the party tending to the guests “Nothing more should be read into this,” he added.
Sources told ThePrint that it was Patel who had called up all the party chiefs with the iftar invitation.
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