BJP MP Anurag Thakur (L) and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi.
Credit: Sansad TV via PTI Photo
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Monday that the national anthem got more respect than the national song, which was “marginalised”. Apart from the Prime Minister, Rajnath led the charge from the treasury benches on the Vande Mataram discussion.
“Today, as we celebrate the glorious journey of Vande Mataram for a century and a half, we must accept the truth that Vande Mataram did not receive the justice it deserved … There was talk of giving equal status to the national anthem and the national song. But one became an integral part of our national consciousness … that song was our Jana Gana Mana. But the other song was marginalised and neglected. That song is Vande Mataram. It was treated like an extra,” Rajnath said.
“Honouring Vande Mataram on the same lines as the National Anthem under Article 51 (a) of the Constitution, would be the perfect tribute to the National Song, along with Bankim Babu,” he added.
Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur said that the song must not hurt any religious sentiments. “Vande Mataram does not hurt any religious sentiment. It is the song of India’s glory,” he said.
Thakur said that the UPA government in 2006 had taken a decision that the song would be sung in all educational institutions. “... but the government had to relent to radicalists and their idea and made it ‘voluntary’ from ‘compulsory’,” Thakur said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that both the Gandhi siblings were not present when the Prime Minister gave his speech. “In his speech, PM Modi spoke about how the original version of the Vande Mataram was cut down at the behest of Jawaharlal Nehru to appease Muhammad Ali Jinnah. These seeds of division led to the partition of India,” Patra said.
“Perhaps, this is also the reason why the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were absent from the House on such an important day,” he added.