India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
The BJP protested against the Congress Working Committee’s decision to chant only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at Congress party functions. The BJP argued that the national song should be sung in its entirety and should be preserved in its original form.
The resolution was passed during a BJP National Working Committee meeting which was presided over by the party new national president Nitin Nabin and witnessed the party new national office bearers. The meeting was convened at the BJP headquarters after the leaders had together recited all six stanzas of the song.
The BJP protested the Congress Working Committee’s decision to recite only two Vande Mataram stanzas, passing a resolution asserting the song’s full significance and announcing a campaign to educate the public on its history and legacy.
The BJP resolution stated that the song, consisting of six stanzas, is an integral part of Indian heritage and has a unique historicity, and that the Congress party has diminished its value and status as it stands intrinsically linked to the freedom struggle.
In this regard, the resolution further asserted that the Congress party decision was borne out of divisive communalism and vote-bank politics, and that the BJP will stand opposed to such attempts.
The resolution further announced the commencement of a countrywide campaign to educate people regarding the background and history of the Vande Mataram song and its stanzas, as well as to sensitize the youth about the song and its freedom-fighting legacy.
In addition, the resolution also invoked Mahatma Gandhi, who described Vande Mataram as an “anti-imperialist slogan” containing the “purest national sentiment,” asserting that the BJP will carry this message across the country.
The resolution is expected to fuel political tensions between the Congress and BJP, with the national song once again finding itself at the center of a political row in India.
