NEW DELHI: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Prime Minister and claimed that the Centre wanted the discussion on Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha to serve its poll prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.During her address in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka said that there are two reasons for the debate on the national song in Parliament.
“There are two reasons for the debate on Vande Mataram in the House today. Elections are approaching in Bengal. In such a situation, our esteemed Prime Minister wishes to establish his role.”“Those who fought the freedom struggle, who made sacrifices for the country—this government seeks an opportunity to level new accusations against them. By doing so, the Modi government wishes to divert the country’s attention from the essential issues concerning the people,” she added.“You (BJP) are for the elections, we are for the country. No matter how many elections we lose, we will sit here and keep fighting you and your ideology. We will keep fighting for our country. You cannot stop us,” she further said.Earlier in the day, PM Modi launched a fierce attack on the Congress, accusing the party of repeatedly compromising on the national song — from the freedom movement to the years after Independence. Framing the discussion around what he described as Congress’ historic concessions to the Muslim League, the Prime Minister said the party had “fragmented” the song and betrayed the spirit of the freedom struggle.In the 10-hour discussion on Vande Mataram in Parliament, PM Modi recounted how Vande Mataram had become synonymous with India’s struggle against colonial rule.“When they divided Bengal in 1905, Vande Mataram stood like a rock,” he said, adding that “Vande Mataram also showed India the path to self-reliance. Back then, from matchboxes to large ships, ‘Vande Mataram’ was written as a tradition. It became a means to challenge foreign companies and emerged as a slogan of the Swadeshi movement.”He described the song as something far deeper than a political chant. “Vande Mataram was not just a mantra for political independence. It was not limited to our independence; it was way beyond that. The freedom movement was a war to free our motherland from the clutches of slavery… During our Vedas, it was said: This land is my mother, and I am the son of the soil.”Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi hit out at PM Modi and accused him of using his speech during the Lok Sabha discussion on Vande Mataram to “rewrite history” and give a “political colour” to the debate.Gogoi said that the Prime Minister has a “habit” of bringing up Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress in almost every speech, irrespective of the issue.“It seemed that your political ancestors participated in various movements against the British. So I saw the intention in the PM’s speech to rewrite and revise history. The second objective was to give a political colour to this debate,” Gogoi said.“He took Nehru’s name 14 times and that of the Congress 50 times during the debate on Operation Sindoor. When there was a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, Nehru’s name was taken 10 times and that of the Congress 26 times,” Gogoi said.