New Delhi: BJP president Nitin Nabin on Thursday accused the Congress of showing disrespect towards Vande Mataram after the party’s Working Committee resolved that only the first two stanzas of the National Song would be sung at its programmes.
In a Hindi post on X, Nabin alleged that the Congress had turned into the “new Muslim League” because of its focus on vote-bank politics.
“This insult to the sacred invocation of ‘Bharat Mata’ is a disdain for those thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation, keeping this very song in their consciousness,” the BJP president said.
His remarks came a day after the Congress Working Committee decided to follow a 1937 resolution adopted by the party’s highest decision-making body on the rendition of Vande Mataram. Under the decision, only two stanzas of the song will be performed at Congress events in the future,as reported by The New Indian Express.
“The Congress has now formalised its insult (to Vande Mataram) into a resolution. Its working committee has decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at Congress forums,” Nabin said.
“The Congress has now become the new Muslim League today,” he added.
Nabin said the Congress’ decision insulted the memory of the freedom fighters who regarded Vande Mataram as a source of inspiration during the struggle for independence.
BJP Cites I-Day Row
The BJP president also made an indirect reference to an incident at the Congress office during the Independence Day programme on August 15, when the full version of Vande Mataram reportedly became a subject of controversy.
He said the conduct witnessed during that event reflected the same disregard for the National Song, although the Congress had described it as a “coincidence”.
“Today, that very insult has become the Congress’s policy,” the BJP said.
“This is not merely a political defence, but proof of the hunger for that vote bank at the altar of which the Congress has repeatedly mortgaged the nation’s self-respect,” the party added.
