NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is no stranger to controversies. The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, who is known to speak out his mind, has triggered several political storms with his remarks. The veteran Congress leader, who has been one of the strongest critics of the BJP and the RSS, has often been accused of insulting the Hindu community to appease the minorities. In fact, such has been some of his remarks in the past that even the Congress was forced to distance itself from them. It is in this context that his latest social media post citing RSS and BJP to highlight the “power of organisation” seems intriguing.The Congress Rajya Sabha member on Saturday shared a 1996 photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with L K Advani and praised the BJP and the RSS for promoting ground workers – alluding to PM Modi – to posts like chief minister and Prime Minister. “I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impactful. In the way the grassroots swayamsevaks (workers) of RSS and the workers of Jan Sangh @BJP4India sit on the floor at the feet of leaders and become the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country. This is the power of the organization. Jai Siya Ram,” Singh said on X.
As expected, the post created a flutter. The fact that it coincided with the Congress Working Committee meeting and was tagged not just to the party’s top leadership but also to Prime Minister Modi added to the intrigue. Also, the use of “Jai Siya Ram” at the end seemed strange for a leader, who was once in the centre of a storm for using “Osamaji” for Osama bin Laden. Under all round fire then, Digvijaya had clarified that it was a slip of tongue.So, what was the objective of Digvijaya’s post? Was he actually trying to please the BJP and the RSS? Or was he dropping hints about his future plans and sending a message to the top leadership? Or was he targeting leaders within the Congress who are close to the top leadership?While nothing is impossible in politics, it is difficult to believe that Digvijaya would have had a sudden change of heart vis-a-vis the RSS and BJP and would try to please them.So, was the Congress veteran sending across a message to the top leadership? Well, Digvijaya’s Rajya Sabha term ends in July 2026 and the big question is will the Congress nominate him again? If not, how would he react? After all, we have seen another party veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad turn from a loyalist to a rebel and quit the party in 2021 after he was denied a Rajya Sabha ticket. Will Digvijaya follow suit if ignored? Well, we do not know for now.So, that brings us to the third possible reason for Digvijaya’s post. Was the senior Congress leader targeting the top office-bearers in his party responsible for running the organisation and who are very close to the leadership? The fact that many leaders came out in his support on the need to strengthen the organization gives some credence to this possibility.Most Congress leaders, as expected, unleashed a broadside against Digvijaya’s post and rejected the idea of learning anything from the RSS. Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “There’s nothing to learn from the RSS. What can an organisation known for Godse teach an organisation founded by Gandhi?”Congress MP Manickam Tagore asserted that the Congress had nothing to learn from what he described as a hate-driven organisation. “The RSS is an organisation of hatred. It spreads hatred, breeds hatred and carries out propaganda based on hate. There is nothing to learn from the RSS,” he said.However, many others defended Digvijaya and argued that the focus should not be on the example he had cited but on his message for strength and unity in an organization. They cited his commitment to the Congress and also his strong anti-RSS stand in the past.”Look, it is important to pay attention to whose words are being used, what they mean, and in what context they are spoken. No one can even remotely think that whatever Digvijaya Singh says would not be in the interest of the Congress party or that he would speak in a way that goes against the party’s ideology. He is a pillar of the Congress party, and if he has used any particular language, it is necessary to understand what his context was and what his target was what he was trying to do,” Salman Khurshid told ANI.Congress leader TS Singh Deo defended Digvijaya Singh’s remarks and said: “Digvijaya Singh is much senior to me; I cannot comment on his statement. He will be able to explain it better, but as far as strengthening the organisation is concerned, it is a continuous process…In any organisation, whether it is the BJP, RSS, or any other, everyone’s work is reviewed. The BJP certainly reviews the Congress and other parties… So, Digvijaya Singh’s intention was not to imitate anyone, but he spoke about what we can do to strengthen the organisation.”Congress MP Imran Masood said Digvijaya Singh has consistently opposed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “Digvijay Singh is a staunch opponent of the RSS. That’s all I know; there’s no need to create so much controversy over this,” he said. Congress leader Rajeev Shukla also defended the former MP CM and said that the matter was being “unnecessarily amplified”.Party leader Udit Raj openly backed Digvijaya’s message and admitted that the grand old party was grappling with serious organisational weaknesses and widespread factionalism. “There is definitely organisational weakness. Is there any doubt about that? For 10 years, we couldn’t even appoint district presidents. Whenever someone was appointed, another group would block it. Factionalism is rampant,” Udit Raj told news agency IANS. “Discussion is part of Congress tradition; we don’t run a dictatorship like the BJP. It is in our tradition to introspect. If there were no organisational weaknesses, would we keep losing elections repeatedly? The positive thing is that we are working to overcome our shortcomings. There is nothing wrong with it,” he added.Candid confession that to some extent justifies Digvijaya’s strong post.However, with his remarks putting the Congress on the backfoot, Digvijaya first issued clarification and then sent out a unity message slamming the BJP. “I am a supporter of the organisation, but an opponent of the RSS and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. I have only praised the organisational strength of the RSS. I have always opposed the policies of the BJP and the RSS,” he said as his post raised a storm. Later, he targeted the BJP and said “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.” “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,” the Rajya Sabha member added.While this clarification helps the Congress counter the BJP attacks, it does little to solve the mystery behind his cryptic message: Was Digvijaya dropping hints about his future plans or was he targeting Congress leadership and the coterie in the party? Go to Source
