Shashi Tharoor backs Digvijaya Singh on strengthening Congress organisation

Adding to the Congress’s discomfort, senior leader and MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday (December 28) seemingly supported the views expressed by his colleague Digvijaya Singh on the issue of organisational strength, saying the Grand-Old Party also needed more discipline and cohesion.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi who asked him about Digvijaya’s apparent praise for the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Kerala parliamentarian said he also wants the Congress’s organisation to become stronger, adding that there should be discipline in the organisation, news agency ANI reported.

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Tharoor, however, concluded by saying only Digvijaya could speak for himself, the report added.

Digvijaya's 'praise' for RSS, BJP organisation

Digvijaya, who is an MP in the Rajya Sabha, triggered a political controversy on Saturday (December 27), the same day the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met in Delhi to discuss key issues, including the Narendra Modi government repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with a new law, and the upcoming state elections in 2026, by sharing an old black-and-white photograph from the rival camp. It showed a much younger Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on the floor near the feet of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani.

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Calling the photograph “very impactful”, the veteran parliamentarian praised the “power of organisation”, saying how an RSS grassroots volunteer and Jan Sangh/BJP worker, who once sat on the floor at the feet of leaders, went on to become the chief minister of a state (Gujarat) and later the PM. Digvijaya also tagged top Congress leaders, including president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others in the post.

Digvijaya's post on convincing Rahul

The post from the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister came just days after another post in which he urged Rahul to look into the party’s internal reforms, saying it needed “pragmatic decentralised functioning”. However, he added that it is difficult to convince the latter.

Also read: Tharoor’s praise for PM Modi earns Congress ire, party calls it ‘personal view’

Digvijaya later said his remarks were misconstrued and that he was a “staunch opponent” of the RSS and Modi. However, it was not enough to stop the reactions that were pouring in thick and fast.

Congress organisation under scan as party turns 140

The reaction of Tharoor, who of late has also created discomfort within his party’s ranks by praising PM Modi time and again, will add more to the Congress’s headache even as it observed its 141st foundation day on Sunday.

Both he and Digvijaya attended the CWC meeting.

Other leaders of the party also reacted to Digvijaya’s remarks, and they were mixed. Rajasthan MLA Sachin Pilot said the Congress was united but underlined that people were entitled to their opinions.

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Senior leader Pawan Khera, however, refused suggestions that the Congress should draw lessons from outfits such as the RSS, which he linked to Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

The BJP called Digvijaya’s remarks the Congress’s internal matter, but did not forget to attack the Opposition party and particularly Rahul.