"Congress objecting to Vande Mataram beyond comprehension": JDU leader Rajiv Ranjan

Patna (Bihar) [India], August 23 (ANI): Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan on Sunday criticised Congress over its resolution to sing only the first two stanzas at party events, saying they should have raised their objections during the Parliament session instead of boycotting proceedings.
Speaking to ANI, Ranjan said that the issue could have been discussed in Parliament and questioned the Congress' decision to not participate in the proceedings on the matter.
"Today, Congress has an objection to Vande Mataram, and this is beyond comprehension. They could have registered their objections. Why were they boycotting during the Parliament session? They could have expressed their views on this important issue, and now it has become the law of the country," he added.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday passed a major resolution on the honour and historic legacy of 'Vande Mataram' and said that it will lead a nationwide campaign to raise awareness around the history and significance of the National song.
The party strongly condemned the Congress Working Committee's decision taken on August 19 to re-adopt its 1937 resolution that restricts the singing of Vande Mataram to only its first two stanzas at Congress programmes.
The BJP said it considers Vande Mataram as India's National Song, an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, the mantra of the freedom struggle and the immortal symbol of India's national consciousness.
On Wednesday, the Congress Working Committee also decided that only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events, citing the party's own 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.
After the CWC meeting, Congress MP KC Venugopal said the party's stand on the recitation of Vande Mataram was clear and that it would follow the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937. (ANI)