'Vande Mataram' debate: Amit Shah slams Congress over 'divisive politics'

He questions Rahul Gandhi's absence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha on the national song

New Delhi: Mounting an attack on the Congress and accusing it of "divisive politics", Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on 150 years of 'Vande Mataram' on Tuesday said the politics of appeasement started when the grand old party dropped parts of the song.

He also questioned Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his absence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Monday. 

“Policy of appeasement started by breaking Vande Mataram; had it not happened, the country would not have been divided,” Shah said, leading the treasury benches’ charge in the Upper House during the discussion on 'Vande Mataram'.

The Lok Sabha held a discussion on the topic on Monday. 

Shah also mounted an attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family. “In Vande Mataram’s 50th year, Nehru cut the song into two. In its 100th year, India was under the Emergency period. Those who wanted to sing Vande Mataram were jailed by Indira ji," Shah said.

Responding to Priyanka Gandhi’s charge that the BJP was holding a discussion on the national song only as the Bengal Assembly elections are approaching, Shah said "we should not link the national song to Bengal alone."

“Some people feel Vande Mataram is being discussed because Bengal polls are approaching. They want to reduce Vande Mataram's glory by linking it with elections,” he said. 

He added that while the creator of 'Vande Mataram’, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, was born in Bengal, the song did not remain restricted to Bengal, or to India. “Anywhere in the world, when Indian freedom fighters met in hideouts, they said Vande Mataram. Even today, when our troops at the borders and those tasked with internal security sacrifice their lives, the words on their lips are Vande Mataram. It became a rallying cry during the freedom movement and remains a source of inspiration,” Shah said. 

Shah also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for not being present in the Lok Sabha on Monday. “We don't abstain from Parliament, nor run away from discussing issues, we are ready to discuss anything,” he said.