New Delhi [India], December 28 : Reacting sharply to Congress leader Manickam Tagore's remarks, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesperson Vinod Bansal on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing the party of consistently supporting anti-national elements and termed the party as the "gang of anti-nationals".
Congress MP Manickam Tagore earlier today criticised Digvijaya Singh's praise for the RSS's organisational strength, calling it a "famous self-goal". Tagore equated the RSS with Al-Qaeda, stating that both spread hatred.
Reacting to this, Bansal said that the Congress had a long history of standing with terrorists and extremist forces. "Congress is one such party that has always nurtured and sheltered Islamic Jihadis, terrorists and supported inhuman institutions around the world. Its party members can't sleep at night if a terrorist is killed. It's a party that opens the Supreme Court at night just to save a terrorist, how can they get inspiration from Sangh?" he said to ANI.
Bansal further said that even if someone in the party speaks positively, others don't let them talk. "In this party, even if one person says something good, the rest of the party members will grab their legs and turn them upside down. This has become the culture of Congress," Bansal added.
He also accused the Congress of losing its political identity, saying it had turned into a "gang of anti-nationals". Bansal said, "The way Congress consistently stands with terrorists, the way its character is anti-Hindu... this is a very old strategy of Congress. Congress is no longer a political party; it has become a gang of anti-nationals."
Terming the Congress party as "parivaarvaadi party", Bansal said, "Even if there is something good happening, they have no right to speak about it because the party is parivaarvaadi party. It lives for one family and dies for one family. Beyond that, it has no agenda. It has a single-point agenda, so how can such a party find the Sangh appealing?"
Earlier today, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, "The RSS is an organisation built on hatred, and it spreads hatred. There is nothing to learn from hatred. Can you learn anything from Al-Qaeda? Al-Qaeda is an organisation of hatred. It hates others. What is there to learn from that organisation?"
This comes after Digvijaya Singh shared a black-and-white photograph from the 1990s, found on social question-and-answer website Quora, showing a young Narendra Modi seated on the floor near senior BJP leader LK Advani at an event in Gujarat.
In a post shared on X, Singh noted that individuals who once worked at the grassroots level could rise through the organisational hierarchy to become Chief Minister and eventually Prime Minister. He described this as the "power of organisation", while tagging senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, PM Modi, and the official handles of the Congress.
"I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impressive. In what way did the grassroots swayamsevak of RSS and the worker 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 organisation. Jai Siya Ram. @INCIndia @INCMP@kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @Jairam_Ramesh @narendramodi," Singh's X post read.
Manickam Tagore said that one should learn from an organisation like the Congress, which brought people together. "Mahatma Gandhi transformed the Congress party into a people's movement. Should this organisation learn from those organisations of hatred?" he said.
Manickam Tagore further said that Digvijaya Singh's statement "does not help" in Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's struggle against the Central Government.
"Rahul Gandhi is completely with people, fighting for people against government monopoly. We should support him, and such a statement does not help in Rahul ji's struggle," he said.
Digvijaya Singh later clarified that he had praised only the RSS's organisational structure, not its ideology, and that he remains opposed to the RSS and PM Modi.