Senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Saturday shared a throwback photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, praising the organisational strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The photo, which stirred controversy, has once again made the parties’ internal differences public.
Singh’s post coincided with a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, and is being widely interpreted as a pointed message to the party leadership.
All About The Photo Shared By Digvijaya Singh
The photo shared by Singh dates back to the 1990s and shows a young Narendra Modi sitting on the floor beside senior BJP leader LK Advani, who is seated on a chair. Singh described the photograph as “impactful” and said it was taken at an event in Gujarat.
The photograph is believed to have been clicked during the swearing-in ceremony of former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela in 1996.
Digvijaya Singh Praises RSS, BJP
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, while sharing the photo said how a grassroots worker could rise through the ranks within the RSS-BJP ecosystem to eventually occupy the highest political offices in the country.
“I found this picture on Quora. It is very impactful. How an RSS grassroots swayamsevak and a Jana Sangh/BJP worker, who once sat on the floor at the feet of leaders, went on to become the Chief Minister of a state and the Prime Minister of the country. This is the power of organisation. Jai Siya Ram,” Singh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Notably, Singh tagged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, along with MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, indicating that the message was directed squarely at the Congress high command.
BJP Targets Congress Leadership
The post quickly triggered political reactions, particularly from the BJP, which used the opportunity to question the Congress leadership and Rahul Gandhi.
BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan took a swipe at Gandhi, posting, “Will Rahul Gandhi show courage and react to the shocking ‘truth bomb’ dropped by Digvijaya Singh, which has totally exposed how Congress’s first family ruthlessly runs the party in a dictatorial manner and also how autocratic and undemocratic this Congress leadership is?”
Digvijaya Singh Issues Clarification
As the issue escalated, Digvijaya Singh clarified that his comments were limited to praising organisational discipline and structure, and that his opposition to the BJP remained unchanged.
Just a week before sharing the photograph, Singh had publicly called for organisational reforms within the Congress and had made pointed remarks about Rahul Gandhi’s leadership style.
Advocating “pragmatic decentralised functioning,” Singh suggested that convincing Rahul Gandhi on internal reforms was not easy.
Delhi: Congress MP Digvijaya Singh reacted to his own tweet, says, “I support the Sangathan, but I am an opponent of the RSS and PM Modi. You are mistaken. I have praised the organization, but I remain strongly opposed to the RSS and PM Modi and their policies” pic.twitter.com/UA9S6lzItV
— IANS (@ians_india) December 27, 2025
“Rahul Gandhi ji… please look at Congress. Like the Election Commission needs reforms, so does Congress. You have started with organisation creation, but we need more pragmatic decentralised functioning. I am sure you would do it because I know you can do it. Only problem is that it is not easy to ‘convince’ you,” Singh wrote.
Also Read: Unnao Rape Case: CBI Files SLP In Supreme Court, Challenges Delhi HC Bail Order For Kuldeep Sengar
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
