Cong proud flagbearer of 'Vande Mataram': Kharge hits back at BJP's swipe

AS the political row over national song, 'Vande Mataram escalates, Congress on Friday hit back at PM Narendra Modi saying Rabindranath Tagore had suggested that the first two stanzas of the song be adopted and it was "shameful" of the Prime Minister to accuse the Nobel laureate of harbouring a divisive ideology.

- PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi

The Opposition party also demanded an apology from Modi.

After inaugurating the yearlong commemoration of "Vande Mataram" to mark 150 years of the national song, the prime minister said important stanzas of the national song were dropped in 1937, which sowed the seeds of the partition, and asserted that such a "divisive mindset" is still a challenge for the country.