Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh has belled the proverbial cat in the Congress by comparing its lack of organisational strength with that of the RSS-BJP. He praised the RSS-BJP for its organisational capabilities and a “decentralised” power structure. He illustrated his argument with an old picture where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen sitting on the floor in front of Lal Krishna Advani who is sitting on a chair. He described elevation of an ordinary party worker like Modi to Chief Minister and then Prime Minister a result of great organisational strength.
Singh posted this message on the social media platform ‘X’ ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi on December 27. The CWC meeting had been organised exclusively to discuss the Congress strategy for nationwide agitation against the scrapping of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Singh repeated his remarks about better organisational strength of the RSS-BJP than the Congress in the CWC meeting as well. He reportedly spoke in detail about it. He was not interrupted or contradicted by anyone as he spoke.
This did cause a sense of discomfiture and unease within the Congress. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi did not take any questions after they made their suo motto statements in the press conference held immediately after the CWC meeting.
The reason was obvious that the party did not want to face any inconvenient and uncomfortable questions about Singh’s observations, which had the potential to completely hijack the main agenda.
Singh, unlike Shashi Tharoor, is not known to have any soft corner or fondness for the RSS-BJP or the BJP government and Prime Minister Modi. He is a brutal critic of the RSS-BJP and Modi. He often confronts the ruling party on multiple issues. At times, he is so critical of the BJP government that his own party distances itself from his views. Singh reiterated and reaffirmed his ideological opposition to RSS-BJP, but added that the Congress lacked the organisational strength of the RSS-BJP combine.
Singh has spoken the right thing. The RSS remains the organisational bulwark for the BJP. Hundreds of thousands of RSS volunteers, called ‘swayamsevaks’ gather every morning and evening for daily ‘shakhas’ (small gatherings), where they perform physical exercises and also discuss various ideological and political issues. These ‘swayamsevaks’ build up the narrative and work on it every day, twice a day, round the year. By the time the elections come, they have already done their homework. They carry their conversations forward to their homes and workplaces, thus spreading the message far and wide.
Also read: Modi photo post of Digvijaya Singh sparks political row
These people are real volunteers, rightly called the ‘swayamsevaks’. None of them does it for any reward or compensation. Those in charge of the organisational work do not charge anything nor do they claim any incentives. They spend from their own pockets. The system has been developed in the RSS in such a way that the ‘swayamsevaks’ and various office bearers assigned with various roles and duties, while carrying on their own business/ work/ job spend the spare time for the organisational work. This may sound unimaginable and unthinkable, as people get involved in such things mainly for rewards. But the RSS volunteers are brought up in a culture where “service to the nation” is considered above everything for which no rewards are to be claimed.
Digvijaya Singh has identified the real challenge that the RSS-BJP poses to the Congress. He also knows it well since he happens to be the last full-term chief minister of Congress in Madhya Pradesh, the experimental laboratory of the RSS and the BJP. Rahul Gandhi by simply dismissing the RSS as a “communal organisation, dividing people” does not convince anyone. Gandhi may describe the RSS as a “divisive” force, but it has been accepted by lakhs of people across the country. Gandhi has not been able to prove or convince people of the country as to how the organisation is “communal” or “divisive”.
Singh also referred to “over-centralisation” of power in the Congress. That way the BJP is no different either. Once the organisations become stronger, their power structure also gets over-centralised. People in the BJP know it better. The BJP’s strength is that even if the power is concentrated and over-centralised, it will not always remain so. There is also not a guaranteed permanent leadership assigned to a particular person or family, as is the case currently with the Congress.
Obviously, when Singh said “over-centralisation”, nobody had any doubts as to what he meant and whom he was referring to. There have been such voices raised off and on in the past as well. But these voices have always been silenced.
Singh is in the last lap of his political journey with his Rajya Sabha term ending next year and he being in his late 70s. He does not have much to lose in “belling the cat”.
But would anyone care what he said lest it annoyed those for whom the advice is meant? After all, he comes with a great experience having been the chief minister for two terms in Madhya Pradesh. Nobody can doubt his loyalty to the party and “first family”. If he has raised an issue, he has raised it with good faith and complete sincerity towards the party. The Congress, if it wants to really pose any serious challenge to the BJP, will need to reorient and remodel itself. The Congress cannot challenge the BJP merely with the rhetoric of describing it “divisive” or “pro-capitalist”. It has to do more than that to convince the people of the country that not only what it says is correct, but also that the party is a better option than the BJP.
Last not the least, Digvijaya praising the RSS-BJP for enabling an “ordinary worker”, who would once sit on the floor, to become the Chief Minister and later Prime Minister of the country is also a telling comment on the Congress. The import of his message is not lost on anyone. It is simple and straight that such a thing cannot be possible in the Congress for obvious reasons. What Digvijaya said publicly today, a large number of Congressmen have been saying in private for a long time.
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