Digvijaya Singh Praises BJP-RSS While Sharing Old Photo of PM Modi, BJP Hits Back at Congress

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh has sparked a fresh political controversy after sharing a decades-old photograph of Narendra Modi and publicly praising the organisational structure of the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

A throwback image and unexpected praise

Singh shared a black-and-white image from the 1990s showing senior BJP leader L K Advani at an event in Gujarat, with a young Narendra Modi seen sitting on the floor nearby. The Congress leader reposted a screenshot sourced from Quora and highlighted how grassroots workers within the Sangh-BJP ecosystem could rise to occupy the highest political offices in the country.

"I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impactful. In the way the grassroots swayamsevaks (workers) of RSS and the workers of Jan Sangh @BJP4India sit on the floor at the feet of leaders and become the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country. This is the power of the organization. Jai Siya Ram," Singh wrote on X.

Iconic image from Gujarat politics

The photograph is considered an iconic visual from the 1990s, documenting Narendra Modi's early years in Gujarat politics. According to reports, the image was taken during the swearing-in ceremony of former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela in 1996, an event attended by several senior BJP leaders of that era.

Singh's praise stood out sharply as the RSS and the BJP have often been targets of sustained criticism from the Congress leadership on ideological and political grounds.

BJP calls it a "truth bomb"

The BJP was quick to seize on Singh's post and used it to attack the Congress leadership. Party spokesperson C R Kesavan taunted Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, calling Singh's remarks a major exposure of the Congress's internal functioning.

"Will Rahul Gandhi show courage & react to the shocking Truth Bomb dropped by Shri. Digvijaya Singh's tweet which has totally exposed how Congress first family ruthlessly runs the party in a dictatorial manner and also how autocratic & undemocratic this Congress leadership is? (sic)" Kesavan said.

Is there a message to the Congress high command?

Singh tagged the official Congress social media handles along with party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in his post. This has led to speculation that the message was aimed as much at the Congress leadership as at political opponents.

The timing of the post is also being closely watched. Singh's second term in the Rajya Sabha is set to end early next year, and a third term appears uncertain. Senior leaders such as Kamal Nath and Meenakshi Natarajan are believed to be in contention for a Rajya Sabha berth. In addition, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari and state legislative party leader Umang Singar are seen as leaders not aligned with Singh.

Together, these factors have added layers of political interpretation to what might otherwise have been seen as a simple throwback post, turning it into a flashpoint in both national and party-level politics.