New Delhi, August 16: Leaders from the India Alliance have sharply reacted to the BJP’s allegations against Sonia Gandhi regarding the singing of ‘Vande Mataram‘ at the AICC headquarters. Leaders from Trinamool Congress, Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) accused the BJP of diverting attention from real issues and exploiting nationalism for political gain.
In Patna, Congress Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh dismissed the BJP’s claims. He stated, “When ‘Vande Mataram’ was written, these people were nowhere to be found. The Congress family was the only one present. Now, the BJP is just creating a ruckus.”
In Delhi, TMC MP Kirti Azad countered the BJP, questioning whether they intend to provoke the public. He pointed out that when the original ‘Vande Mataram’ was not played at BJP events and instead a song from the ‘Vande Mataram’ film was used, why was there no outcry? Was that not disrespectful?
Kirti Azad challenged BJP MPs and workers to come forward and sing all six verses of ‘Vande Mataram’. He remarked, “I honestly cannot do it, but does that make me any less of a nationalist?”
Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, also questioned the BJP’s assertions. He noted that while singing all six verses of ‘Vande Mataram’ has been made mandatory, it was not necessary. Raut recalled that during the passage of this law in Parliament, the Union Home Minister was absent, as was the Prime Minister. “Isn’t this the greatest insult?” he asked.
Raut emphasized that during the freedom struggle, revolutionaries who were hanged or imprisoned used only two slogans to awaken the people – ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Inquilab Zindabad’. They did not sing the entire ‘Vande Mataram’.
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