‘Cong backstabbed Vande Mataram’

Modi accuses Nehru of appeasement politics over the 150-year-old anthem

- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

A special committee of Parliament began deliberations on Monday on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, triggering a charged political confrontation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress over the song's historical treatment.

The discussion, intended as a commemorative exercise, quickly descended into a fierce exchange over what the Prime Minister termed a “betrayal” of the national song by the Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. Opening the debate in the Lok Sabha, Modi said Congress compromised on Vande Mataram and surrendered before the Muslim League. Congress did a 'tukde-tukde’ of Vande Mataram,” he said.