Pune (Maharashtra) [India], August 20 (ANI): Congress national spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil on Thursday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark describing the Congress Working Committee's resolution on Vande Mataram as an "anti-national decision", questioning whether freedom movement leaders including Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Acharya Kriplani would also be considered "anti-nationals".
"Perhaps as per him, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru ji, Acharya Kriplani are all anti-nationals," Londhe Patil said while speaking in Pune.
He said the decision on Vande Mataram was taken by leaders who wanted to keep the country united and asserted that Congress had always respected them and would continue to do so.
Londhe Patil questioned why Vande Mataram was not "remembered" during previous governments, including the Morarji Desai, VP Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee governments.
"Morarji Desai Govt came to power 50 years ago. Why was Vande Mataram not sung at that time? VP Singh Govt came 37 years ago. Why was Vande Mataram not remembered at that time? Atal Bihari Vajpayee Govt came 30 years ago. Why was Vande Mataram not remembered at that time?" he asked.
He questioned why the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) took decades to understand the issue.
"Narendra Modi Govt came to power in Gujarat in 2002. He has been the PM since 2014. It took RSS 90 years to understand Vande Mataram?" he said.
The Congress leader also accused the ruling establishment of diverting attention from basic issues by raising Hindu-Muslim issues.
"Instead of talking about basic issues, they want to do Hindu-Muslim. This has been rejected by the people of this country. Gen Z rejected this," he said.
Meanwhile, 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 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.
Earlier today, criticising Congress' stance, Amit Shah launched a sharp attack, accusing the opposition party of reviving its "extreme policy of appeasement".
Shah told ANI that the decision was not merely symbolic but a repetition of a historical error that had contributed to the partition of India. (ANI)
'Perhaps Bose, Tagore, Gandhi, Nehru, Kriplani are all anti-nationals': Congress' Atul Londhe Patil hits back at Shah
