Singh has questioned the Batla House encounter. He had made statements on the Hindu terror linking it to the RSS, which the Burari AICC meeting adopted. Singh had obviously briefed his colleague Rahul Gandhi to express similar sentiments, which came out in the Wiki leaks disclosures. He had often alleged the involvement of the RSS in terror attacks, which enraged the RSS and the BJP. He made a controversial statement about Hemant Karkare making a phone call to him before the 26/11 attack. He had called the Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev a 'thug' and also took on Civil Society leader Anna Hazare. After the recent terror attack on July 13 in Mumbai, he had once again come up with a statement that the involvement of the RSS could not be ruled out. Digvijay recently courted controversy by alleging that RSS is making bomb factories in India.

The rise of Singh is quite interesting. He is highly political and clever. Like V.P. Singh he is also a loner. He became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1993. He won the state elections again in 1998 when the Congress was in opposition and managed to come closer to Sonia Gandhi. He was an influential chief minister supportive of the party when it needed him. He lost the next elections and vowed that he would take sanyas for ten years. He decided that he would play a role in national politics occupying the party positions and today he is one of the senior most leaders in the party.

Why does Singh make these statements? He has learnt two things. The first is that he cannot flourish in the Congress unless he is on the right side of the Gandhi family. The second is that he should champion the cause of Muslims and combine it with the influence of the Rajputs, the same as late V.P. Singh did. With these aims now, Digvijay Singh wants to ensure his place in the party and the national leadership. He has managed to create front-page news by these controversial views.

In fact, some see him following the footsteps of his mentor Arjun Singh who also made a niche for himself in the party by being different. Both were chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh at different times. Digvijay Singh ruled for ten years without a break. Arjun Singh also used to champion the cause of the Muslims, which is exactly what Digvijay Singh is doing. Arjun Singh was a Rajput leader and Digvijay is trying to use his Rajput connections.

Congress watchers also believe that there is an Uttar Pradesh angle in his strategy. Singh is the AICC General Secretary in charge of UP. Rahul Gandhi is depending on him on the UP election strategy. Muslims being important in at least 100 constituencies, Singh thinks that being the spokesperson for them might help the Congress in elections. Ground level information is that his tactics have yielded some results and the UP Muslims have begun to look at him with respect. How far this would be encashed in votes is something to be seen in the next year’s elections. Some in Congress fear that Digvijay may want to appease the minority vote bank by making such remarks, but it will isolate him further within his own party and also strengthen the BJP and RSS and help them to polarize the Hindu vote bank.

The importance of Digvijay Singh is evident that despite his controversial statements he has not been obviously pulled up as he continues this habit. He has taken on Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the naxal strategy. He has expressed views about the four top ministers going to the airport to receive Ramdev to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Neither the Prime Minister nor Sonia Gandhi seem to have contained him going by the way he continues with his controversies.

Singh is highly ambitious. Some in the Congress see him positioning himself for a number two position if Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime Minister. If luck favors him, he would also like to be a candidate for the top post in case Rahul Gandhi looks for a nominee. Till then his controversial statements will continue.

Soon after the 13/7 Mumbai serial blasts, Digvijay tried to hog the limelight by hinting at RSS involvement in the attacks. The RSS hand cannot be ruled out, he said. His statement came at a time when the ATS, NIA and other investigating agencies were searching for clues and links.

In Indian politics, much importance is being given to the statements of a General Secretary of a top political party. If for some reason, there is any deviation from the party line, the latter steps in and rejects the statement and even issues a gag order. (IPA Service)