WB Cong chief says 'astonished' over Pranab's decision to attend RSS event

West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury today expressed surprise over former President Pranab Mukherjee's decision to attend an RSS event and said he is unable to relate it with Mukherjee's previous 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 the valedictory function of Sangh Shiksha Varg -- 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 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, Mukherjee is no longer President, nor a Congress leader, and he 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.