The Winter Session of Parliament entered its sixth day on Monday with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha dedicating extended time to discuss the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the debate in the Lok Sabha, delivering a detailed address that revisited the historical evolution of the national song and its significance across various turning points in India’s political landscape.
In his speech, PM Modi highlighted the journey of Vande Mataram from the era of colonial oppression to the freedom struggle, and later, through the Emergency period. He emphasised that the national song had played a crucial role in shaping India’s collective consciousness but had also faced phases of resistance and neglect. The Prime Minister asserted that Vande Mataram “had faced repeated opposition and neglect during critical moments in India’s past.”
However, the debate quickly took on political undertones when Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi questioned the timing and intent behind the discussion. She alleged that the government had scheduled the debate to divert public attention ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. “We are having a debate on Vande Mataram as West Bengal polls are coming. They want to divert attention from the real issues of public,” Priyanka Gandhi said in the House.
Gandhi further stated that Congress values national interest over political advantage and accused the government of attempting to cast aspersions on the legacy of freedom fighters, particularly referencing PM Modi’s comments on India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
During his address, PM Modi cited a letter written by Nehru to Subhas Chandra Bose regarding the debate around the national song. The Prime Minister said, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a letter to Subhash Chandra Bose after Jinnah’s opposition to Vande Mataram, stating that he had read the background of Vande Mataram and thought it might provoke and irritate Muslims. He added that they would examine the use of Vande Mataram, and that too in Bankim Chandra’s Bengal.”
Responding to this, Priyanka Gandhi read another excerpt from the same letter, arguing that PM Modi had selectively quoted it. She read Nehru’s words, “there is no doubt that the present outcry on Vande Mataram is to a large extent manufactured one by the communalists, whatever we do, we cannot pander to communalists’ feelings.”
