Diggy praises RSS-BJP, shares Modi’s old photo, sparks row

New Delhi: Causinga flutter ahead of the CWC meeting, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday lauded the organisational power of RSS-BJP as he shared Narendra Modi's old picture and said how a grassroots worker went on to become the chief minister and prime minister by sitting at the feet of their leaders.

The remarks came ahead of the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting that decided on its agitational plan against the scrapping of MGNREGA from January 5.

Sources said Singh also raised the issue of strengthening the Congress organisation at the grassroots level, asserting it was much needed in the fight against the ruling BJP and to oust it from power.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister was, however, stopped by some other senior leaders during the meeting from raising matters other than MGNREGA on which the CWC was convened, the sources said.

As Singh continued to raise his issue of strengthening the organisation pressing for decentralisation, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also told him to stop as he wanted to hear out the other leaders at the meeting too and take their suggestions and views, the sources pointed out.

Singh, however, later backtracked saying he only talked about the organisation and its strength and not the BJP or the RSS as he was staunchly against the two.

“In fact, I praised the party organisation. You people have misunderstood things. I am a staunch opponent of the BJP and the RSS,” Singh clarified on his post after the meeting.

As media persons swarmed Singh and prodded him to speak further, he said, “You have misunderstood. I have only praised the organisation. I have and will always be opposed to the RSS, and prime minister’s policies.” Asked further, he said, “Whatever I had to say, I have stated in the CWC.” “We have to strengthen the organisation. Praising the organisation is not bad. In this vast country, if you see my tenure as chief minister and party president, I have functioned with decentralisation,” Singh also said.

Singh, a former two-time chief minister, is currently a Rajya Sabha member whose tenure is set to end on June 21 next year.