Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
New Delhi: BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan on Friday launched a scathing attack on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress, accusing them of "brazenly pandering to a communal agenda." The remark comes amid the controversy over altering the lyrics of the national song Vande Mataram, particularly the removal of references to the goddess Durga.
Kesavan further added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will recite the complete version of the national song to mark its 150th anniversary. Before the recitation, the Prime Minister criticised the Congress, saying that the party, in 1937, had altered the lyrics of the national song, thereby sowing the seed of "division." “It is important for today’s generation to understand why Divisive thinking remains a challenge today,” PM Modi added.
In an X post, Kesavan slammed Nehru and shared letters written to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in September and October 1937. In the latter, Nehru stated that the "background of Vande Mataram is likely to irritate the Muslims." The controversy arose from portions of the song that praise the Hindu goddess Durga.
According to Kesavan, Nehru spitefully wrote that anyone “considering the words in Vande Mataram as having anything to do with a goddess was absurd.” However, the referenced section in the September letter indicates that Nehru meant the interpretation of the lyrics as absurd, not the person making the interpretation.
Nehru also wrote that the lyrics were “out of keeping with modern notions of nationalism.” He went on to say that “there does seem some substance in it,” referring to the outcry against Vande Mataram, and that “people who are communistically inclined have been affected by it.”
The opposition party responded by accusing the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), of "avoiding" singing the national song during their meetings and rallies.
Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the RSS prefers to sing ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale’, a musical prayer, rather than India’s national song. “It is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism — the RSS and the BJP — have never sung ‘Vande Mataram’,” Kharge said.
