Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress Party over the "injustice" done to national song Vande Mataram. Initiating the marathon debate on Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha, PM Modi said Congress Party made compromises on the national song and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said promoting this could irk Muslims.
He said that this “compromise” was the biggest misfortune of the nation, as the Congress Party had bowed down before the Muslim League.
"It is unfortunate for the country that Congress compromised on Vande Mataram. They bowed to the Muslim League and decided to fragment Vande Mataram," he said.
Vande Mataram showed path of sacrifice, says PM Modi
PM Modi said Vande Mataram was a mantra which gave energy and showed the path for sacrifice during India’s independence struggle.
"Vande Mataram is a mantra, a slogan which gave energy, inspiration, and showed the path for sacrifice and penance to the freedom movement. It is a matter of pride that we are becoming witnesses to 150 years of Vande Mataram. It is a historic moment. It is a period when many historical events are being celebrated as milestones... We recently celebrated 75 years of our Constitution. The country is celebrating the 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Patel and Birsa Munda. We are also celebrating the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur ji. Now we are celebrating 150 years of Vande Mataram," he said.
PM Modi takes dig at Congress on Emergency
Without naming the Congress Party, PM Modi took a dig at the grand old party saying the country was trapped in emergency when the national song completed 100 years.
"When Vande Mataram completed 50 years, India was under British rule. When Vande Mataram completed 100 years, India was in the clutches of Emergency... At that time, the patriots were imprisoned. When the song that inspired our freedom movement, unfortunately, India was witnessing a black period.... 150 years of Vande Mataram is an opportunity to reinstate that pride and that great part of our past... This song inspired us to attain freedom in 1947," he said.
Vande Mataram stood strong during partition of Bengal
PM Modi said the British divided Bengal in 1905, but Vande Mataram stood like a rock and inspired unity. He said Bengal’s intellectual prowess guided the nation through that crisis when the British adopted the policy of divide and rule.
"The British understood that it was difficult for them to control India after 1857. They knew that their plans to divide India and make people fight each other would be hard to execute, so they opted for divide and rule, making Bengal their experimental centre. Those were the days when Bengal's intellectual power guided the country," he said.
Hailing the national song, PM Modi said it was the high time when people should be indebted to Vande Mataram as it united the nation.
"There is no leadership and opposition here. We are here to appreciate and accept the debt of Vande Mataram collectively. It is because of this song that we are all here together. It is a sacred occasion for all of us to acknowledge the debt of Vande Mataram... It united the nation from North to South and from East to West. The time has come to unite again and move together with everyone. This song should inspire and energise us to fulfil the dreams of our freedom fighters. We need to reiterate the resolve to make our nation self-reliant and developed by 2047," he said.
