Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the controversy surrounding the rendition of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ at the Congress headquarters during the Independence Day celebrations on Saturday.
Addressing a public gathering in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, Shah accused the Congress of disrespecting the national song and demanded that the party apologise for allegedly stopping its rendition midway.
Referring to visuals from the Congress headquarters, Shah alleged that senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had asked the party president to stop the song while it was being sung.
He said the incident had been witnessed by people across the country through television broadcasts.
“Sonia ji, 140 crore people are watching you. This sin you have committed will never be forgiven by the people of this country,” Shah said.
He also questioned how anyone could consider leaving Vande Mataram incomplete and said the Congress should be ashamed of the incident.
Shah recalls role of ‘Vande Mataram’ in freedom struggle
Shah linked Vande Mataram to India’s freedom struggle, recalling the significance of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition.
He said the words “Vande Mataram”, meaning “I bow to thee, Mother India”, had inspired thousands and lakhs of freedom fighters who faced imprisonment, bullets, lathis and even the gallows during the struggle for Independence.
Accusing the Congress of forgetting the song because of “vote bank politics”, Shah said the national song should be accorded respect across the country.
He further said that if the Congress had “even a shred of shame left”, its leaders should fold their hands and apologise to the immortal soul of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay as well as to the people of India.
The controversy began after visuals from the Congress headquarters’ Independence Day programme on Saturday showed senior party leaders interacting while Vande Mataram was being recited.
BJP leaders subsequently criticised the conduct of Congress leaders, alleging that it amounted to disrespect towards the national song.
BJP leader Amit Malviya claimed that Sonia Gandhi objected to the full rendition of Vande Mataram after the initial stanzas were sung.
He alleged that Gandhi appeared agitated and asked for the rendition to be stopped, while Rahul Gandhi also appeared to signal that it should end.
Malviya, however, said the song was eventually allowed to continue and was sung in full.
He said this was the first time the entire version of Vande Mataram had been sung at the Congress headquarters during an Independence Day programme.
Congress rejects BJP’s interpretation
The Congress has rejected the allegations levelled by the BJP and maintained that Sonia Gandhi’s actions had nothing to do with stopping or objecting to the national song.
According to the Congress, Gandhi was only attempting to ensure that the arrangements for the rendition of Vande Mataram were properly coordinated at the event.
The dispute has since turned into a political confrontation, with the BJP accusing the Congress of disrespecting a symbol associated with India’s freedom struggle, while the Congress has defended its leader and rejected the interpretation being placed on the visuals.
Meanwhile BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, the direct descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, has written to Sonia Gandhi expressing anguish over the Vande Mataram recitation at Congress headquarters row. He has demanded an unconditional apology from her to the citizens of India, particularly the people of West Bengal.
