Weeks after former President and one of the senior most Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee visited Nagpur to attend an RSS event with its chief Mohan Bhagwat, prominent business tycoon and former Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata expected to attend a meeting with Bhagwat as well. According to a report in the New Indian Express, Ratan Tata is scheduled to attend an event organised by RSS affiliate Nana Palkar Smriti Samiti on August 24 to share a dais with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
As per the report, Nana Palkar Smriti Samiti is an NGO dedicated to serving patients and has a 10 storied premise near the Tata cancer hospital in Mumbai and serves to patients visiting the hospital. A senior worker of the Nana Palkar Smriti Samiti has reportedly stated to the New Indian Express that Tata had visited their premises a few years back and their work is known to him. He further added that since they are connected with Tata hospital and are inspired by RSS, they have invited both Ratan Tata and RSS chief Bhagwat to the concluding ceremony of the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Nana Palkar and golden jubilee of the NGO. He added that formal announcement of the event will be made soon.
Ratan Tata had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat back in December 2016 when he had visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. He had spent some time at the national headquarters and later the Tata trust had helped in building a hospital in Nagpur. During his visit, Ratan Tata was accompanied by BJP spokesperson Shaina NC and he had paid his tributes to the memorial of RSS founder Dr Hedgewar.
The Tata Trust has been involved in many charity projects in Nagpur city. It has initiated an outreach centre of the cancer hospital in the city and has helped to revamp the 150-year-old mental hospital in the city. The first phase of the National Cancer Institute was inaugurated in August 2017, by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. The institute is aided by corporates like ONGC and Coal India. Tata Trust has been key in providing training and support to the doctors at the institute.
Former President Pranab Mukharjee’s attendance at the RSS event had caused quite a meltdown among Congress leaders and so-called liberals of India. However, any meltdown over the scheduled event where Ratan Tata will share a stage with RSS chief is yet to be seen.
