Internal reactions continued to surface within the Congress party after senior leader Digvijaya Singh commented on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting held on December 27, 2025, coinciding with the party’s 140th foundation day. While some leaders agreed that Congress needs stronger organisational structures, others distanced themselves from Singh’s assessment.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said there was “no doubt” that the organisation must be strengthened, but made it clear that Singh was expressing his personal opinion. Seated beside Singh during the foundation day ceremony, Tharoor stressed that the day was meant to reflect on the party’s long history and national contributions.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu MP Manickam Tagore argued that the Congress’s organisational model was rooted in “love and inclusivity,” unlike the RSS. He said groups built on hate and division cannot be compared with Congress, likening the logic to comparing extremist organisations that thrive on violence. When asked if he was equating RSS with Al Qaeda, Tagore reiterated only that both function on the basis of hate.
Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid added that Congress has its own strengths and values, and that it does not need lessons from an ideology it fundamentally opposes.
The controversy followed Singh’s social-media post appreciating the disciplined organisational machinery of the RSS-BJP, where he shared an old photograph of Narendra Modi — then BJP’s Gujarat organisational secretary — sitting before L.K. Advani during the State government’s swearing-in ceremony in 1995. Singh also highlighted the urgent need for the Congress to rebuild its grassroots network to effectively challenge the ruling BJP.
Later, Singh clarified that he had already expressed everything he intended to say. Calling himself a Congress loyalist of five decades, he emphasised that he has consistently opposed communal politics both inside legislatures and within the party framework. He reiterated his ideological disagreement with the RSS, adding that although Congress is driven by movements, it sometimes struggles to convert that energy into votes.