Digvijaya Singh's remark came after Congress' drubbing in the 2016 assembly elections.
Highlights
- Even Indira, Rajiv weren't great speakers. Rahul is developing: Digvijaya
- Had raised eyebrows with tweet calling for 'major surgery' in Congress
- His comments come after Congress loss in 2016 Assembly elections
The Congress's crash in another set of state elections has led to a tough reevaluation - not by the party but by a disappointed leader.
After his
sensational tweet recommending "major surgery" for the Congress, senior leader Digvijaya Singh admitted in an exclusive interview to NDTV today that the party needs a "major overhaul" in campaign strategy and social media, and also "fresh faces and fresh ideas".
He compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi - widely seen as the party's candidate for the top post though never officially declared one.
"The difference between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi is that Mr Narendra Modi has got the gift of the gab," Mr Singh, 69, said.
Asked whether he felt the "gift" is missing in Rahul Gandhi, he replied: "Even Indira Gandhi was never a great speaker, even Jawaharlal Nehru. But Indira Gandhi and Nehru had the vision - when they spoke, everyone listened. As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he is developing."
He also commented that the party had lost the battle on social media.
"In building Mr Modi's image, social media has played a very important role. So we sort of lost out on that, although we are bridging the gap now. We are coming close to BJP on social media. But the fact remains that we have to bring in fresh ideas and fresh faces and initiatives to meet the challenge," he said.
The Congress yesterday lost Assam and Kerala and now has just seven of India's 29 states and only one major state - Karnataka.
"We will introspect into the reasons for our loss and will rededicate ourselves to the service of the people with greater vigour," Congress president Sonia Gandhi said after the defeats.
Not long after that statement, Mr Singh tweeted: "We have done enough Introspection, shouldn't we go for a Major Surgery?"
Today, the 69-year-old tempered his comment to say: "Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the surgeons, they need to conduct the surgery. I want them to take action."
Mr Singh regretted that the much-talked about overhaul after the party's 2014 national election defeat never took place.
After the party, led by Rahul Gandhi, nosedived to its worst-ever national tally of 44 Lok Sabha seats, AK Antony was tasked with heading a committee that would assess the defeat and suggest remedies.
About a decade before its decimation, the Congress had also formed a "Future Challenges Committee" under Veerappa Moily to see how it could reinvent itself.
Reacting to Mr Singh's comments, AK Antony said: "This is our worst performance but we have seen worst days earlier too. We now need to sit and analyse what went wrong."