Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Thursday wondered if questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi is treason, subtly giving vent to his frustration at his party leadership’s rude disapproval of his views on the Pulwama tragedy.

Digivijaya, who has a critical role in the management of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and has been constantly walking with the yatris, tweeted from the campsite in Banihal on Thursday morning: “Our 40 jawans were sacrificed in Pulwama.

Where did the 300kg RDX come from? Why was DSP Davinder Singh let off ? How were our soldiers killed in Galwan Valley? What questions should I ask, if not these?”

Digvijaya added: “I salute Indian Army’s valour. But is asking questions of Narendra Modi treason?” This frustration couldn’t be concealed because his own party refused to defend him against a vicious attack by the BJP and the media which portrayed his views as an attack on the army’s morale. Even Rahul Gandhi not only gave credence to media distortion that the army’s valour was questioned but went to the extent of describing Digvijaya’s views as “ridiculous”.

Although Digvijaya is a disciple soldier of the party and a family loyalist, his sense of disquiet and disagreement with the party leadership got manifested in different ways over the last two days.

When a photograph of his and the party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh walking under the same umbrella, like true comrades, generated curiosity and colourful comments, he tweeted: “I hope Jairam Ramesh who is a prolific writer would write ‘tale of two becharas’ on Bharat Jodo Yatra! We have and shall keep having differences of opinion but as Rahul Gandhi ji has said we are a democratic party and have a right to air our opinion. But when the party decides we act as one.”

Digvijaya and Ramesh, two architects of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, have often been described as “two becharas”, even as both of them played stellar roles in managing the grand project and communicating its message on a daily basis.

The differences cropped up for the first time when Ramesh not only confronted Digvijaya by disowning his views on the surgical strike but physically prevented a reporter from asking him questions about the subject.

Ramesh has legitimate concerns about the capacities of the BJP and the mainstream media in distorting the messaging and hijacking the entire discourse. He doesn’t want the Pulwama tragedy or Balakot surgical strike to overshadow the specific content of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the same sentiment might have compelled Rahul Gandhi to snub Digvijaya publicly. In his subsequent statements,

Digvijaya amended his arguments, omitting that one sentence about the proof of surgical strike. But neither Rahul nor Ramesh tried to put Digvijaya’s views in perspective, explaining that the questions about lapses leading to the Pulwama tragedy were valid and it was nobody’s intention to disrespect the army or question its valour.

The demise of objectivity in the media has made nuanced discourse impossible and Digvijaya was hounded on one point while brushing the substantive questions on Pulwama under the carpet.