Digvijay defends Gandhis, says Congress 'only thread' that can bind India

New Delhi: With questions being raised on the Congress party's leadership post assembly polls debacle, senior leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh on Saturday came out in defence of the 'Gandhi family' and said the grand old party is the 'only thread' that can bind the nation.

Singh also hinted that the criticism of the Gandhi family was coming from the Sangh and followers of its ideology, who have historically hated the family.

"Do you expect them to praise the Gandhi family? The Gandhi family has lost two of its prime ministers in their fight against terrorism. They are inherently opposed, the sangh element hates Nehru-Gandhi family, not from today. Can't you see the kind of filthy rubbish they write about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. This is their character and culture," he said.

"The fact remains that it is only the Congress party which keeps the country together. It is the only thread by which the country can be bound, cutting across cast communities and religion," he added.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier took a swipe at the statement made by Digvijaya Singh for insisting that the party needed 'political surgery' post the loss. Jaitley had asked if the Congress would evolve into a structured party with a galaxy of leaders or would it remain a 'dynastic party'.

Digvijay's suggestion came on a day Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the party would introspect over the causes of the debacle in the assembly elections and work with "greater vigour" for the service of the people.