Priyanka Gandhi Counters PM Modi, Says Government Twisting Vande Mataram History.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Centre of distorting historical facts for political gain, as the Lok Sabha debated the legacy of Vande Mataram on its 150th anniversary.
Speaking during the discussion, Priyanka said the government was attempting to “manufacture controversy” around the national song to divert attention from pressing issues. She questioned the need for the debate itself, saying Vande Mataram was widely respected across the country and required no political framing.
Her remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress had diluted Vande Mataram under pressure from the Muslim League and cited Jawaharlal Nehru’s correspondence with Subhas Chandra Bose to argue that Congress leaders had objected to parts of the hymn.
Priyanka rejected the charge, presenting excerpts from historical letters exchanged between Nehru, Bose and Rabindranath Tagore. She said Nehru had described early criticism of Vande Mataram as “communal mischief,” and pointed out that Tagore had himself suggested limiting the national song to its first two stanzas to prevent misinterpretation of later verses. These were the stanzas used throughout the freedom movement, she noted.
She also reminded the House that the Congress Working Committee formally adopted Vande Mataram as the national song in 1937, calling the BJP’s current narrative “selective and misleading.”
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been under strain since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, indicating possible military involvement. China has since issued diplomatic protests, warned its citizens against travel to Japan, extended a ban on Japanese seafood imports and cancelled several cultural events.
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