New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday appeared to support senior party colleague Digvijaya Singh’s controversial remarks on organisational strength, underlining the need for greater discipline and cohesion within the Congress Party.
Responding to questions from reporters in Delhi about Singh’s comments praising aspects of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP’s organisational model, Tharoor said: “We have a 140-year history; there’s a lot we can learn. I also want our organisation to be strong. Discipline is essential.” He added that Singh “can speak for himself” regarding his own views.
Tharoor emphasised that strengthening the party’s internal discipline and structure was logical and necessary, even as he maintained the Congress’s ideological stance remains distinct from its rivals.
The debate was triggered when Digvijaya Singh shared a throwback photograph on social media showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, using it to highlight what he described as the organisational strength of the RSS and BJP. Singh said the image illustrated how a grassroots worker could rise to become a chief minister and prime minister — a testament, in his view, to the power of organisational discipline.
Reactions inside the Congress have been mixed. While Sachin Pilot said individuals are entitled to express their opinions, Pawan Khera strongly rejected any suggestion the party should draw lessons from the RSS, associating the Sangh with Nathuram Godse and saying there was “nothing to learn from the RSS”.
The BJP labelled Singh’s remarks an internal matter for Congress but seized the opportunity to criticise the opposition, with party leaders attacking Congress leadership as part of routine political sparring.
Facing backlash, Singh clarified that his comments were misconstrued, stressing he remains a “staunch opponent” of the RSS and Prime Minister Modi’s ideology, and that his praise was directed only at organisational capacity, not ideology.
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