Now, Rahul Gandhi Slammed By Owaisi For ‘Sharing Table’ With Pranab At Iftar, Accused Of Appeasing Hindus

Seems like the row over the former president and key Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee attending a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event won’t end anytime soon.

Following his address to RSS cadre in Nagpur, the Congress party came under criticism when reports emerged that Mukherjee was to be left out of an Iftar party hosted by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. However, Mukherjee was not only invited but was seated beside Gandhi at the Wednesday (13 June) event.

It was being said that this move means that Mukherjee’s controversial visit to the RSS headquarters was a thing of the past for the party.

However, this very gesture has not gone down well with All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi who has lashed out at Gandhi calling him a "hypocrite".

Owaisi has questioned how it was “acceptable and normal” for Gandhi to share a table with a person who delivered a speech at the Sangh headquarters, even accusing him of going after “Hindu vote”.

Owaisi tweeted his angst: “Give a speech at RSS Head Office, praise its founder and comfortably come to Janedharu Iftar party. And if my party contests elections, it will be called communal and what not but inviting and sharing a table with Pranab Mukherjee is normal, acceptable. Hypocrisy of highest order,” he tweeted.

Owaisi also told ANI that "Congress is not interested in Muslim empowerment”.

"They are only trying their level best to get the Hindu vote. By inviting Pranab Mukherjee and making him sit beside Rahul Gandhi, the message is loud and clear,” he told the news agency.

The Iftar party was hosted by the Congress after a gap of two years. Besides Mukherjee, others who shared table with Gandhi included former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former President Pratibha Patil, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, ex-Union ministers P Chidambaram, AK Antony, Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma.