Reactions continued from within the Congress on senior leader Digvijaya Singh’s remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), made ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting held on Saturday (December 27, 2025) on the party’s 140th foundation day, with some supporting the view that the party’s organisational strength had to be bolstered, and others dismissing it.
“The [Congress’s] organisation should be strengthened, there is no doubt,” Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who was seated next to Mr. Singh during a ceremony to mark the party’s foundation day, later said, adding, “But Digvijaya Singh can speak for himself.”
“We keep talking with each other. We are friends and talk to each other. It is the 140th foundation day of the Congress. It is a very important event for the party. It is a day in which we look back on our very remarkable history and the contributions the party has made to the nation,” Mr. Tharoor said, when asked about being seated next to Mr. Singh, and whether the two exchanged views on the matter.
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Meanwhile, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, Manickam Tagore, said that the party’s organisation, “based on love”, could not be compared to that of others. “The RSS is an organistaion which is based on hate, breeds hate and propagates gates, you cannot compare [the Congress] with such an organisation. The Al Qaeda is also an organisation, and is based on hate and violence. Therefore, organisations may exist but the structures they are based on are different. We need to understand that the Congress organisation is based on people, love, relationships, justice, inclusive organisation, and therefore there is no comparison,” Mr. Tagore said. When asked to clarify whether he was comparing the RSS to Al Qaeda, he said, “All I am saying is that the RSS is based on hate, the Al Qaeda is based on hate.”
