New Delhi : A fresh political controversy erupted on Saturday after a video from the Congress’s Independence Day programme at its headquarters in New Delhi. President Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party (CCP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi making gestures that seemed to ask workers to stop the rendition of the national song, Vande Mataram.
The video from the Congress event shows Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge attending the Independence Day function along with other party leaders and workers. As the rendition of Vande Mataram continues, Sonia Gandhi and Kharge can be seen making hand gestures towards those around them, which appear to signal that the singing or playing should be stopped. Rahul Gandhi is subsequently seen making a similar gesture. The footage has since been widely circulated online, with critics accusing the Congress leadership of disrespecting the National Song.
Notably, the development came after both Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge – Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively – skipped the Independence Day event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Delhi’s Red Fort “due to improper protocols”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly attacked the Congress over the issue, alleging that the party historically shortened the national song by retaining only its first two stanzas.
Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 and later incorporated into his novel Anandamath, became a powerful slogan of India’s freedom movement. The first two stanzas were subsequently adopted as the National Song, while the longer version contains additional passages that have historically been the subject of debate because of their religious imagery and references to Hindu traditions.
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