Digvijay Singh clarifies his ‘power of organisation' remark amid row, says lauded ‘Sangathan' but against RSS, PM Modi

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday issued a clarification on his “power of organisation” remark after posting an old photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani, stating that although he values robust organisational structures, he continues to strongly stand against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing the criticism over his social media post, Singh said his comments had been misinterpreted.

“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?” ANI quoted Singh as saying.

Singh’s comments followed his sharing of a black-and-white photograph from the 1990s, sourced from the social question-and-answer platform Quora, which shows a young Narendra Modi sitting on the floor beside senior BJP leader LK Advani at an event in Gujarat.

In a post on X, Singh observed that individuals who begin their journey at the grassroots level can rise through an organisation’s ranks to become Chief Minister and later Prime Minister. He referred to this as the “power of organisation”, while tagging senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Prime Minister Modi, and the official Congress handles.

"I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impressive. In what way did the grassroots swayamsevak of RSS and the worker 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 organisation. Jai Siya Ram. @INCIndia @INCMP@kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @Jairam_Ramesh @narendramodi," Singh's post mentioned.

BJP reacts

The BJP used Singh’s recent remarks to launch an attack on the Congress. Party national spokesperson CR Kesavan on Saturday said the remarks had brought to light what he called the “autocratic and undemocratic” style of functioning within the Congress leadership.

In a post on X, Kesavan asked if Rahul Gandhi would react to what he described as a “truth bomb” dropped by Singh, claiming it exposed how the party was being run in a “dictatorial manner”.

"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?" Kesavan stated.

Earlier this month, Singh had called on the party leadership to embrace a more “decentralised” approach and a “Pragmatic Decentralised Functioning”.

(With inputs from agency)