Shillong: The INDIA bloc fired back at the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday. They accused the ruling party of using a resolution on the national song Vande Mataram to dodge urgent national problems. The BJP recently moved to defend the legacy and dignity of the song following a row over how senior Congress members acted during an Independence Day rendition. The Congress Working Committee remains firm on its practice of singing only the first two stanzas at party functions.
Congress leader Harish Rawat claimed the BJP is desperate. "The BJP is trying to make Vande Mataram an issue because the real issues are those raised by Gen Z," Rawat said. He argued that younger generations care more about inflation and unemployment. Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the attack. She said the new BJP leadership should focus on economic challenges instead of chasing political points through manufactured controversy.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar defended the party's choice to sing only two stanzas. He pointed to a 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution advised by Rabindranath Tagore. Figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel supported that decision. Shashi Tharoor clarified that the party sings two stanzas at its own events but stands for the full song at government functions.
D. Raja, the CPI National General Secretary, slammed the BJP for its rigid stance in a multi-party democracy. He stated the BJP lacks a monopoly on nationalism. Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena-UBT went further. He accused the BJP of using the issue to sow hatred and divide Hindus and Muslims.
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