A special Lok Sabha discussion marking 150 years of the national song Vande Mataram turned into a sharp political confrontation on Monday, as Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of using the debate as a distraction ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

Participating in the discussion, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the ruling BJP deliberately revived the issue to divert public attention from rising prices, unemployment, and what she described as “real crises hurting ordinary families.”

“The government wants to talk about Vande Mataram because Bengal elections are around the corner,” she said, asserting that the debate was being “strategically timed to shift focus away from people’s suffering.”

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly, she claimed his leadership was no longer what it used to be. “His self-confidence is decreasing, and his policies are weakening the country,” she remarked during her speech.

Priyanka also condemned what she called the BJP’s repeated attempts to malign former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. “Since you constantly raise questions about Nehru, let us fix a time, debate every allegation, close that chapter forever—and then move to today’s issues: inflation and joblessness,” she said, drawing loud reactions from both sides of the House.