Nothing political in post, says Digvijaya Singh; Tharoor backs call to strengthen Congress

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said that there was nothing political in his “BJP-RSS” post, even as Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor strongly supported the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s suggestion for strengthening the grand old party with discipline.

“Even I want our organisation to become stronger, and it is logical to have discipline in the party,” Tharoor told media persons.

Asked about his reaction to Singh’s post on X, Tharoor said, “Digvijaya Singh is the best person to put this question to. He can elaborate on this.”

On Sunday, Singh told IANS, “There is no need to respond to my post on X as it is not political.”

He said, “Their (BJP) politics has always been about divide and rule. This is a family (Nehru-Gandhi) in which two members have been martyred, and therefore there can never be divisions among them, no matter how many attempts are made.”

Singh on Saturday kicked up a controversy with a social media post – accompanied with a 1996 photo – in which he said that the BJP-RSS allow grassroots workers to grow within the organisation to top posts like chief minister and prime minister.

The photo shared by Singh showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on the floor near BJP veteran L.K. Advani at an event in Gujarat.

Soon after the post on social media post, the former Madhya Pradesh CM clarified that he remains a staunch opponent of the RSS-BJP ideology. He issued a clarification, saying his comments were misunderstood.

“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 told media persons.

On Sunday, senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a sharp attack on the Congress after veteran leader Digvijaya Singh praised the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying it reflected a delayed realisation of the BJP’s robust grassroots structure.

Reacting to Singh’s remarks, Prasad said, “Digvijaya is realising after a long time that the BJP organisation is very strong, which is good.”

He went on to take a swipe at the Congress leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, questioning his relevance within his own party.

“What does Rahul Gandhi say when the country does not take him seriously? Now, even his party does not take him seriously. Senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh say that Rahul Gandhi doesn’t listen, so what is the point of speaking to him?” Prasad said, referring to Singh’s separate post on X about Rahul Gandhi.

On December 19, Singh addressed his social media post to Gandhi, calling for reforms in the party. Suggesting a more pragmatic decentralised functioning of the party, Singh ended the post by saying, “Only problem is that it is not easy to ‘convince’ you!!”

IANS