Many sleeper cells are active in the party, Digvijay Singh’s statement at the CWC meeting heats up the atmosphere

New Delhi: The atmosphere at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday heated up when Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh raised the issue of the organization’s condition and the presence of sleeper cells within the party. According to sources, Digvijay Singh was the first to speak at the meeting.

He made a statement regarding the organizational weakness within the Congress. Digvijay Singh claimed that many sleeper cells are active within the party and need to be identified. His statement intensified political activity both inside and outside the party.

Digvijay Singh said that while we (Congress) talk about movements and protests, we lack a strong organization to implement them on the ground. He mentioned the difference between the working style of the RSS and the Congress. Digvijay said that a strong organization is essential to fight against the ruling BJP and remove it from power.

To this, Organization General Secretary KC Venugopal commented that people don’t even retweet the work the party organization is doing. Reacting to this, Digvijay Singh said that many sleeper cells are active in the Congress and need to be identified.

Digvijay shared PM Modi’s picture
Before the CWC meeting, Digvijay Singh shared an old picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the social media platform X. In this post, he praised the organizational strength of the RSS-BJP. He wrote, “I found this picture on the Quora site. Very impressive. How an RSS ground-level volunteer and Jan Sangh-BJP worker became the Chief Minister of a state and the Prime Minister of the country by sitting on the floor at the feet of the leaders. This is the power of the organization. Jai Siya Ram.”

This post by Digvijay caused discomfort within the Congress. The BJP, however, termed it as open dissent against Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.

Discussion on issues other than MGNREGA at the meeting? According to sources, the CWC meeting was primarily convened to strategize against the discontinuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from January 5th. When Digvijay Singh raised the issue of strengthening the organization and decentralization, some senior leaders advised him against discussing topics other than MGNREGA.

According to sources, when Digvijay Singh continued to emphasize strengthening the organization, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also interrupted him, saying that he wanted to hear the opinions of other leaders as well. It is noteworthy that Digvijay Singh has served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh twice and is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. His term is scheduled to end on June 21st next year.

Later, he changed his tune, saying, “I am an opponent of the BJP and RSS.”
After the meeting, Digvijay Singh clarified his statement. He said, “I have been saying from the beginning that I am against the ideology of the RSS. The RSS neither respects the Constitution nor the laws of the country, and it is an unregistered organization. But I appreciate their organizational capacity, because an organization that isn’t even registered has become so powerful that the Prime Minister says from the Red Fort that it is the world’s largest NGO. If it is an NGO, then where are its rules and regulations? But I do appreciate their organizational capacity.”

Regarding the organizational capacity of the Congress party, Digvijay Singh said, “I can only say that there is room for improvement, and there should always be room for improvement in every organization. The Congress party is fundamentally a party of movements. I have said this many times that the Congress party is and should remain a party of movements. But we fail to convert that movement into votes.”

When asked about the organizational restructuring in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh said, “It’s natural for 25-30 percent of people to be unhappy whenever appointments are made, because people have their own ambitions. But there’s nothing that has caused any significant problem. This process has been carried out properly. We will not be satisfied until our organization reaches the booth level and village level.” Regarding the CWC meeting, Digvijay Singh said, “I have said what I had to say.”

How did the BJP retaliate?
The BJP launched a sharp attack on the Congress over Digvijay Singh’s statement. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that Narendra Modi is a “man of humble origins” who rose from the bottom to the top, while the Congress leadership is going from top to bottom.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari wrote on X that Digvijay Singh has openly expressed dissent against Rahul Gandhi. He said that this statement clearly shows that the Congress organization has collapsed under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and a situation of Congress versus Congress has emerged.