By praising the organization of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior Congress leader Shri Digvijay Singh has exposed the reality and brought to light a historical truth that Indian politics has consistently testified to. Even its staunchest opponents have praised the organizational capabilities of the RSS and the former Jana Sangh. This is evident in the fact that the late Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a true proponent of socialism in independent India, had stated in the 1950s that if he had an organization of workers like the RSS, he could bring socialism to India within two years. Although Dr. Lohia and the RSS had opposing views, he openly praised the RSS for its organizational capabilities.
The reason for this was that the Sangh’s workers are trained in dedication and ideological commitment. The Sangh has been in existence for over a hundred years, but even in the worst of times, its workers have not abandoned their ideological commitment. Politically, the Sangh serves as an ideological university for the Bharatiya Janata Party, as it is from this organization that most of the party’s leaders emerge and remain steadfast in their views. The current Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has also been a volunteer and propagator of the Sangh and is imbued with the Sangh’s values. Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself was considered a very liberal leader, but he too had described himself as a volunteer of the Sangh.
Therefore, Mr. Digvijay Singh’s praise of the RSS and BJP’s organizational strengths shouldn’t be considered surprising. However, in the current political context, the Congress party is upset by Mr. Singh’s statement, as the party is consistently declining in elections and unable to adequately address the public’s pressing issues. Mr. Singh attributes this to the Congress party’s organizational decline, with all its decisions being made from Delhi. However, the reason for this is also historical. In fact, the late Indira Gandhi was the most powerful leader in the history of the Congress party in independent India, yet she never attempted to strengthen the Congress organization’s grassroots roots. It was said of her that she planted a tree in politics and, when it was ready to flourish, would repot it. Consequently, during her tenure, the Congress party failed to cultivate leadership from the masses.
The Congress Party split twice during her tenure, and both times she proved that the party would side with her. The first split, in 1969, left Indira Gandhi alone in her Congress. The late Babu Jagjivan Ram and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed remained with her, while all other prominent leaders joined the other Syndicate faction of the Congress, including the late Kamaraj, who had made Indira Gandhi Prime Minister. However, when she called mid-term Lok Sabha elections in 1971, the people of the country supported Indira Gandhi, and she ran her Congress organization on a whim. State Congress committees began to function on an ad hoc basis, and leaders began to be selected at Indira Gandhi’s discretion.
This weakened the Congress organization on the ground, and a saying became popular within the party that the person who gained notoriety by performing the Ganesh Parikrama in Delhi would become the leader. Following the 1975 Emergency, Indira Gandhi lost the 1977 Lok Sabha elections and was subsequently expelled from the Congress by the same group of Congress leaders who had once coined the slogan “Indira is India” during the Emergency. That leader was the late Devkant Barua. The Congress Working Committee that expelled Indira Gandhi from the party in 1977 included all the prominent Congress leaders of the time, from Sardar Swaran Singh to Brahmananda Reddy and Dr. Karan Singh. But this time too, Indira Gandhi proved that whichever side she stood on, the Congress Party would follow.
Thus, the Congress he founded achieved tremendous success in the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, but he did not change his approach to running the organization, resulting in the Congress becoming a one-family party. Although socialist thinker and leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia had warned the Congress about this in 1959. That year, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru appointed his daughter, Indira Gandhi, as Congress President. Dr. Lohia remarked, “What a cruelty Nehru has committed! He has sown the seeds of dynasty and nepotism in democracy.” History bears witness that Dr. Lohia’s warning is proving true in today’s politics, as dynastic regional parties have spread throughout the country. Shri Digvijay Singh has expressed his concern about this, as the Congress no longer has an Indira Gandhi. He has called for organizational decentralization within the Congress Party.
He is undoubtedly referring to Rahul Gandhi, as the Congress party under his leadership has consistently lost election after election. The perception has become widespread in the country that Rahul Gandhi is a part-time politician. During the Bihar elections, we saw how he fled to Colombia when the election campaign was in full swing in that state. Politics can never be a part-time job, as it is a field of continuous public service. Digvijay Singh has not done anything new by criticizing his own party’s policies, as this has been a tradition within this 140-year-old party. His arguments need to be viewed realistically. The welfare of the Congress lies in this.
