Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused the Congress party of insulting the national song Vande Mataram during its Independence Day programme and called for an apology to the public and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the song’s writer.
Speaking at a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Shah alleged that senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had asked for the song to be stopped midway while it was being performed at the party’s headquarters. He stated that the incident was visible on television and claimed the Congress had sidelined Vande Mataram due to vote-bank considerations.
Shah noted that after 80 years of Independence, the song was sung at the Red Fort and at other flag-hoisting venues across the country. He recalled that thousands of people had faced bullets, lathi charges and imprisonment for singing Vande Mataram during the freedom struggle. He urged Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the people and to the “immortal soul” of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, saying that if any sense of shame remained, the party should do so with folded hands.
The Home Minister was addressing the gathering on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He highlighted Vajpayee’s decisions, including making India a nuclear power after the Pokhran tests despite international pressure, expanding road connectivity to villages, building national highways, and creating a separate ministry for tribal development. Shah linked these efforts to the election of Droupadi Murmu as President, describing it as a reflection of progress in tribal welfare, and said the current government continues to prioritise the same.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, who also spoke at the event, credited the Centre with making the country’s borders safer and praised the leadership for progress in the state, including steps against Left-wing extremism and the implementation of new criminal laws.
The remarks form part of the political exchange following the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.