RSS body withdraws Iftar invitation to Pak High Commissioner

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Muslim Manch has withdrawn its invitation to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit for Iftar party to be held at Parliament Annexe on July 2. With Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives being responsible for the death of as many as eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Saturday had shrugged off the question on the attack, asking to rather focus on the Iftaar Party that was going on in the Pakistan High Commission. "It's the month of Ramzaan, let's focus on this Iftaar party," Basit had said. Seeking to shed its 'anti-Muslim' tag, an RSS affiliate is hosting a grand 'Iftar' on July 2 where it has invited ambassadors of many countries. Organised by Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an affiliate of RSS, the iftar party here would be a much bigger affair this time. It has also asked its members to hold small iftar parties across the country. The Manch had organised a similar iftar party for some diplomats in Delhi, but this time it is being organised on a bigger scale with invites to diplomats of 35 to 40 Muslim nations and some others have been sent. Earlier, Shiv Sena questioned an RSS affiliate's move to host Iftar party in Delhi next month against the backdrop of Sangh's posturing as "nationalist organisation" even as it accused BJP of indulging in "appeasement of minorities" in view of Uttar Pradesh polls. Sena, the key ally in the BJP-led NDA governments at the Centre and Maharashtra, also sought to know whether the "Hindutva agenda" is being diluted ahead of the elections slated next year. "RSS has always wanted India to be a Hindu rashtra and has been portraying itself as a nationalist organisation. The BJP on the other hand has been projecting itself as a party for Hindus. Now why the sudden Iftar party? What do they want to indicate?" Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande had questioned. (with input from PTI)