Digvijaya Singh, senior Congress leader has been under fire multiple times over his comments relating to the ‘Hindu terror’ and others. However, this time around Digvijaya Singh has found himself in another controversy after he had openly praised and supported CPI candidate from Begusarai, Kanhaiya Kumar, who is one of the ten who have been chargesheeted in the JNU sedition case. This comes in the backdrop of Congress-RJD alliance in Bihar which has been fighting against Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai.
Addressing a meeting in Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Singh said: “I am a supporter of Kanhaiya Kumar. And I openly support him. I had mentioned this to my party that RJD made a huge mistake by not giving the Begusarai seat to him. But I am happy to announce that he is coming to Madhya Pradesh for campaigning on 8th and 9th. Even my party was confused that he speaks ‘tukde-tukde’. But nothing was proved against him. This was a lie. These boys are connected to ideology and they are icons for the youth. We should respect them.”
Digvijaya Singh by his comments has essentially given clean chit to Kanhaiya Kumar in the 2016 JNU sedition case, where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in on the JNU campus during a programme called to protest against the death sentence handed out to Afzal Guru, a convict in the 2001 parliament attacks. The matter is still sub-judice.
Congress has distanced himself from Digvijaya’s comments a number of times however there has been no reaction from the top Congress top brass over his ‘new found’ love for Kanhaiya Kumar. Nonetheless, serious questions arise on how long can Congress wash its hands off form the irresponsible comments made by its senior leaders?
The peddling of political agendas has for multiple occasions, trumped national security in Digvijaya Singh’s discourse. Digvijaya Singh was also in the crosshairs over his controversial remarks on the 2008 Batla House operation, which saw police gunning down several Indian Mujahedeen terrorists after serial blasts shook Delhi in September of 2008, which saw deaths of over 30 people and more than 100 people getting injured. Digvijaya Singh catering to his political agenda had questioned the sanctity of the operation calling it a “fake encounter”. In 2009, the Delhi High Court had declined to institute a judicial probe into the gun battle after concrete evidence substantiating the events had emerged.
Digvijaya Singh has been struggling hard to save its political ground against BJP’s Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya and his comments clearly appear to be aimed at polarizing the electorate. Fighting to keep relevance in Madhya Pradesh politics a loss for Digvijaya Singh is sure to once and for all end all speculations about the longevity of his political career.