Vanade Mataram Face-Off : Congress Hits Back At Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Jibe Over Dropping Of Stanzas

File Picture : ANI/ X Video Tweets

Congress party hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi  after his attack on the party over the dropping of stanzas from “Vande Mataram” in 1937, saying Rabindranath Tagore himself had suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted and it was “shameful” of the prime minister to accuse the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology.

Reacting to the prime minister’s remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared extracts from Sabyasachi Bhattacharya’s definitive biography of “Vande Mataram”, giving the background of the Congress Working Committee resolution of October 29, 1937 that adopted the song.

“Three days before the meeting, on October 26, 1937, Tagore wrote to (Jawaharlal) Nehru on this issue. It was the Gurudev himself — with his own special relationship to Vande Mataram — who suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted. His letter in fact profoundly influenced the resolution in its entirety,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“The Prime Minister is now accusing the Gurudev of harbouring a ‘divisive ideology’. It is a shameful statement from a man whose lies and distortions have no limits. The people of India demand an unconditional apology,” he said.

Earlier, The prime minister said important stanzas of the national song, “Vande Mataram”, were dropped in 1937, which sowed the seeds of the partition, and asserted that such a “divisive mindset” is still a challenge for the country.

He made the comments after inaugurating the year-long commemoration of “Vande Mataram” to mark 150 years of the national song. Modi also released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.