'Vande Mataram' used as political tool by those who didn't take part in freedom fight: Oppn's jibe at Modi govt

New Delhi: Opposition MPs on Monday sought to put the ruling BJP on the mat saying those who did not participate in the independence struggle are now trying to use 'Vande Mataram' as a "political tool" to create divisions in the country.

In a discussion on the 150th year of the national song written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay that saw both sides referring to the upcoming West Bengal elections, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said divisive elements are using Vande Mataram to create divisions and these individuals are still following the same 'divide and rule' policy used by the British.

"Time and again it has been seen that those on the ruling side try to appropriate iconic leaders who never belonged to them," he alleged.

DMK MP A Raja said, "the prime minister asked who did the division in Vande Mataram. I want to know – did the division in Vande Mataram lead to the division of the country? And if the prime minister says a crucial aspect must be dealt with today, what exactly is that crucial division we need to understand now?"

He claimed that there were reasons to believe that Vande Mataram was not only against the British exclusively, but also against Muslims and that the controversy surrounding the song was not created by the minority community but by those who framed it as a "Hindu-only" anthem.

Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said Vande Mataram is not only India’s national song but also a legacy that millions sang to fuel the Independence struggle.

“Savarkar, for instance, wrote mercy petitions while in jail, securing his own freedom. At that time, 398 Bengalis out of 585 prisoners in the Cellular Jail devoted themselves to India's Independence, putting aside their own pursuit of freedom. While young Khudiram Bose sacrificed his life, the ancestors of today’s ruling party were busy writing mercy petitions," she said.

Bengal was the flavour of the debate as BJP MPs raised the slogan "Bihar ki jeet hamari hai, ab Bengal ki baari hai" (We won Bihar. It's now the turn of West Bengal), as Modi entered Lok Sabha just before the debate started. Senior Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also referred to Bengal saying one of the two reasons for the government to hold the debate was the Assembly election in the state.

Modi referring to Chattopadhyay as 'Bankim da' also triggered protests, prompting the Prime Minister to switch to "Bankim babu".

"Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay as ‘Bankim Da’, creating the impression that he was having a casual conversation with the literary icon at a local tea shop. Bengalis will not tolerate the belittling of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, just as they did not tolerate the disrespect shown to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar when his bust was vandalised," Dastidar said.