The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has refused a request to host an Iftar party at its Smruti Mandir premises in Nagpur’s Reshimbagh area by asserting that, “no parties could be hosted there”, Indian Express has reported.
The news about this refusal comes just a day after Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) – the Muslim arm of RSS had hosted such a party in Mumbai. This event was already in the news with regards to it being boycotted by various Muslim groups.
With regards to the current case, Mohammad Faruq Sheikh – the convener of Muslim Rashtriya Manch had requested Rajesh Loya the RSS Nagpur Mahanagar Sanghchalak to host such a party at their Smruti Mandir premises. Smruti Mandir is the memorial of RSS founder Dr Keshav Hedgewar.
The proposal also included a promise that the party would be fully vegetarian. The RSS though declined to approve this plan by stating that it was no place to host parties.
The MRM President – Mohammad Afzal though has now accepted the decision by giving a reasoning that, “if a Muslim wants to host an Iftar party, he has to do it himself and can’t ask someone else to do it”.
Earlier though a Times of India report had claimed that the rejection had resulted in discontent between the MRM activists who had felt that holding an Iftar there would have sent a strong signal that, RSS holds a liberal attitude towards Muslims. They also called it an ideal venue for hosting such a party.
The report thus claimed that the disappointed MRM activists felt that they were being given a secondary treatment.
The RSS though might have found a way to appease them by holding an Eid Milam program at their Nagpur headquarters sometime in August, Nagpur Today has reported. This program is supposed to be organised by the MRM activists.