Vande Mataram Row.. Kharge’s Shocking Counter!

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge strongly rejected the BJP’s criticism over his rendition of Vande Mataram. He said he sang the national song in the same manner as national leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru had sung it. Responding to allegations that he sang an incomplete version, Kharge asked whether cases would also be filed against Gandhi, Patel and Nehru if his rendition was considered wrong. His remarks came after BJP leaders objected to him singing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram at a Congress public meeting in Goa on Monday.

Meanwhile, the BJP strongly criticized the Congress for singing only two stanzas of the national song. Addressing the media in Delhi, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of compromising national traditions for vote-bank politics. He said the Congress should stop claiming a monopoly over the freedom movement if it does not respect Vande Mataram. Prasad also alleged that the song was reduced to two stanzas because of pressure from the Muslim League, intensifying the political debate over the issue.