According to R K Prasad's new book, "Kalam: The Untold Story," he was cautioned by a friend that he would be labelled as 'RSS sympathiser'.
In 2014, former President APJ Abdul Kalam skipped addressing a training camp event at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur. On the advice of his friend, Kalam, who was also known as the "People's President," he cancelled his visit to the RSS headquarters.
According to Dr APJ's private secretary R K Prasad's new book, "Kalam: The Untold Story," President Kalam was cautioned by a friend that he would be labelled as "RSS sympathiser" if he made this visit. The RSS leadership was "annoyed" by the President's decision because arrangements and plans for publicising his visit had already been made.
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They cautioned him, according to Prasad, that going to the RSS headquarters would cause him to be called "RSS sympathiser" and "lead to a probable misuse of his identity by the organisation." However, a month after the date he had originally agreed upon, Kalam did go to the RSS headquarters and speak to the attendees of in-house training. Furthermore, none of the organization's high command showed up.
Today, October 15, the entire country is commemorating People's President Dr. APJ Abul Kalam's 91st birth anniversary. "Ram Madhav, the general secretary of the RSS, sent an invitation to our office in May 2014. They wanted Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the RSS, to be there when the former president spoke to young RSS volunteers at a training camp," Prasad explains. R K Prasad worked for Dr Kalam, when he was the then-defence minister's scientific adviser, from 1995 until his passing in 2015.
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"The camp would conclude on June 12, and they wished to have Kalam visit before that on a date convenient to him. Ram Madhav later visited Kalam, and it was decided that the former president would attend the programme at the RSS headquarters on the concluding day of the training camp," he continued.
Following advice, Kalam requested Prasad to give the organisation an explanation and mention that he would be happy to visit there five days before the event. "I really had a rough time talking with the contact person at the RSS. The leadership got really annoyed at this sudden backing out because they had made arrangements and planned for publicity around his visit," Prasad further added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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