Digvijay’s RSS Remark Draws Rare Praise From BJP
Senior Congress leader and former minister Raja Pateria has also backed Mr. Singh’s statement, saying that Congress must try to understand its rivals like RSS fully to counter them successfully.
Bhopal: Veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s recent praise of the organizational strengths of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has created ripple in the political circle in his home state of Madhya Pradesh with leaders from both Congress and BJP hailing him for ‘showing some spine’ by openly ‘admitting the reality’.
Reacting to Mr. Singh’s statement, chief minister Mohan Yadav said that the former deserved a warm welcome for realizing the organizational strength of RSS.
In a lighter vein remark, Mr. Yadav offered the septuagenarian leader to join BJP, saying that BJP respects the experience of veteran leaders like him.
State urban administration minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that there may be differences of opinions among political leaders in a democracy but very few have the guts to speak the truth.
By praising RSS, Mr. Singh has proved him to be a sagacious leader, he said.
He said that Mr. Singh’s standing may have come down a bit in ‘Delhi Darbar’ (referring to Congress top leadership), but he followed the precedent created by brave leaders of Congress of the 1950s like Sardar Patel and others by speaking the truth.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Raja Pateria has also backed Mr. Singh’s statement, saying that Congress must try to understand its rivals like RSS fully to counter them successfully.
He however dismissed the speculations of Mr. Singh quitting Congress in the wake of his statement.
Mr. Singh later sought to put at rest the controversy set off by his statement, saying that “There is no difference in ideology. We (Congress) are all united, and this Nehru-Gandhi family is a family in which two people have been martyred. I strongly condemn the BJP’s attempt to show discord within this family”.