NEW DELHI: Veteran politician Digvijaya Singh reacted to the RSS praise controversy on Sunday, categorically assuring that Congress was “united”. He targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party for attempting to “sow discord” within the “Nehru-Gandhi family”.”There is no difference in ideology. We (Congress) are all united, and this Nehru-Gandhi family is a family in which two people have been martyred. I strongly condemn the BJP’s attempts to sow discord within this family,” Singh said.The reaction came on the day Congress marked its 140th foundation anniversary.”Rahul Gandhi has started this initiative (strengthening the organisation) from the district level and below. The process for that is underway. It will be completed soon,” he added. Singh triggered a controversy by posting a black-and-white image showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi seated on the floor beside senior BJP leader LK Advani in Gujarat. In his post, Singh remarked on how grassroots workers can rise through the party hierarchy to become chief minister and even prime minister, crediting the “strength of organization” for such upward mobility. He also tagged several senior Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Prime Minister Modi, and the official Congress accounts. BJP claimed that Digvijay Singh’s remarks lauding the organisational strength of the BJP and the RSS amounted to “open defiance” of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership within the Congress. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that Gandhi was turning the party “on its head” after being pushed to the margins of its leadership structure.”It’s because our Narendra Modi is ‘guddri ke lal’ (diamond in the rough) and their leader is ‘Jawahar ke lal’ (great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru). Since our Narendra Modi has risen to top from bottom, he is taking the party (BJP) also to the top from bottom,” Sudhanshu Trivedi said.Singh later clarified that although he acknowledges the importance of a robust organisational framework, he continues to strongly oppose the RSS and PM Modi.”I support the organisation. I am against the RSS and Modi ji. You have misunderstood. I have praised ‘sangathan’. I was, am, and will remain a staunch opponent of the RSS and Modi. Is it a bad thing to strengthen and praise the organisation?” he said.
