Talcher (Odisha) [India], August 22 (ANI): BJP MP Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday accused the Congress of indulging in appeasement politics over the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution on Vande Mataram, alleging the party has never stood for the country's unity, identity, and self-respect.
Speaking to ANI, Pradhan said the Congress' stand on the national song reflects its "blatant appeasement" politics and claimed that the party's "true face" has been exposed before the people of the country.
"It has never stood by the nation's unity, its identity, or its self-respect. The Congress has always engaged in the politics of appeasement. This represents the height of blatant appeasement. The true face of the Congress party has been exposed to the people of the country," Pradhan said.
Reacting to BJP allegations, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhankar Sarkar said the party does not need any lessons from the BJP on Vande Mataram and asserted that the Congress' connection with the national song goes back to its roots.
"We have nothing to learn from the BJP. We were born chanting 'Vande Mataram.' No one needs to teach a Bengali how to say 'Vande Mataram.' We do not need a certificate from the BJP. These people are products of the RSS. It took the RSS fifty-two years to finally honour the National Flag at their headquarters," Sarkar said.
This comes amid a political row between the Congress and the BJP over the recitation of 'Vande Mataram', after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) declared that only the first two stanzas of the song would be sung at party events, citing its 1937 resolution.
The decision followed days of controversy after the BJP accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi of conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15 and demanded a public apology.
At a meeting in October 1937 with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose, the CWC decided to drop the later stanzas because their explicit Hindu imagery and context in Anandamath caused political controversy with the Muslim League.
On January 24, 1950, President Rajendra Prasad declared in the Constituent Assembly that Vande Mataram shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana (the National Anthem), though it holds the status of National Song, not National Anthem. (ANI)
"Congress never stood by nation's unity ": Dharmendra Pradhan targets party over Vande Mataram resolution
