‘Political friendship’: Why Digvijaya Singh heaped praises on Amit Shah, RSS

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that Amit Shah and RSS workers helped him and his journalist wife Amrita with forest guide, accommodation and food during their pilgrimage.

Digvijaya Singh has heaped praises on Union home minister Amit Shah and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who otherwise are at the Congress leader’s crosshairs. Singh thanked Shah and the RSS for helping him during his ‘Narmada Parikrama’ four years ago, news agency PTI reported. Singh added that Shah ensured he did not face any problem during their journey, even though elections were underway in Gujarat at the time, mentioning that all this came despite the fact that he has been their “biggest critic.” “They found [a] way for us through the mountains and also arranged food for all of us,” the Congress leader noted about the RSS workers.

Addressing the audience during the launch of Narmada Ke Pathik—a book written by Singh’s long-time associate OP Sharma—the Congress leader talked about his journey on foot he and his journalist wife Amrita undertook along the banks of the Narmada in 2017. “A forest officer arrived, and you will be surprised to know that he told me that Amit Shah had directed him to fully cooperate with us,” Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.

Hailing Shah’s gesture during Singh’s more than 3000-km journey that lasted six months, the Congress leader said that it was an example of “political coordination, adjustment and friendship which has nothing to do with politics and ideology.” The Congress veteran also said although he hasn’t met Shah to date but he has expressed his gratitude to the BJP leader through “proper channels.” Singh added that RSS workers, who “had orders” to meet him, arranged the stay for his group at a Manjhi Samaj Dharamshala for a day, where the hall had pictures of RSS stalwarts Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar hung on the walls. Notably, Singh’s group comprised a leader of BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and three other BJP workers, according to the PTI report.

The reason behind mentioning such details of the journey, Singh noted is to let people know that religion and politics are different and that he took help “from all” during his Narmada Parikrama – adding that the BJP leaders and the party’s youth wing leader have now become an inalienable part of his ‘Narmada family’. The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh also recounted that the late spiritual leader Daddaji had asked his follower and Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana to make arrangements for a community feast at Barman Ghat in the state for Singh and his group, PTI reported.

Singh’s praises for Shah and the RSS come only days after the former claimed that the BJP and RSS have been creating divisions among people for ages. “Time has come when all the parties, who are against the ideology of BJP and Sangh come on one platform,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. He spoke at a protest organised in Bhopal on September 26, which saw the participation of as many as 19 opposition parties. In the same event, a video of the Congress veteran saying that RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandir schools sow seeds of hatred towards religion among children, also went viral, inviting sharp criticism from the BJP.

It also prompted the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to write to the Madhya Pradesh DGP Vivek Johri for initiating an investigation into the matter and submit a report. NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has also written to Singh, seeking an explanation over his statement that “appear to hurt the honour and character of all children studying” in the schools.