Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh Shares Old Photo Of PM Modi, Sparks Controversy Over RSS Praise

Mumbai: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Saturday triggered a political controversy after sharing a black-and-white photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the 1990s and praising the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which the Congress has often criticised.

Congress MP Digvijaya Singh's Tweet

In a post on X, Digvijaya Singh said he found the picture on Quora and described it as “very impressive”. In the post, he wrote in Hindi for which the English translation of the image showed "I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impressive...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,"

The post tagged Congress's social media handles, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the Prime Minister, and quickly drew sharp reactions, as it appeared to praise the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party, both long-standing targets of the Indian National Congress.

As the remarks snowballed into a controversy, Digvijaya Singh later issued a clarification. Speaking to reporters, he said that he had only praised the organisation but would continue to oppose the BJP and the RSS.

The BJP seized on the episode, with its national spokesperson C. R. Kesavan launched an attack on the Congress leadership. In a post on X, Kesavan said, “Will Rahul Gandhi show courage & react to the shocking Truth Bomb dropped by Shri. Digvijaya Singh's tweet which has totally exposed how Congress first family ruthlessly runs the party in a dictatorial manner and also how autocratic & undemocratic this Congress leadership is?”

A week earlier, he had called for reforms within the Congress and urged Rahul Gandhi to look into it. The party needs more "pragmatic decentralised functioning," he had said on December 19, but regretted that it was "not easy to convince" Gandhi.

"Rahul Gandhi ji, you are absolutely "Bang On" in matters of Socio-Economic Issues. Full Marks. But now please look at @INCIndia also. Like @ECISVEEP needs Reforms, So Does Indian National Congress. You have started with "organisation creation" But we need more Pragmatic Decentralised Functioning. I am sure you would do it because I know you can do it. Only problem is that it is not easy to "Convince" you," the post read.