Sonia Gandhi's 'Vande Mataram' Response Intensifies National Song Debate Between BJP and Congress

New Delhi:

With a gentle smile, Sonia Gandhi delivered a concise yet powerful 'message to the nation' on her 79th birthday - simply stating 'Vande Mataram'.

The veteran Congress leader's brief response was clearly strategic, coming amid an intense national debate over the country's 'national song' that has raged for two days, involving pointed exchanges between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The controversy began on Monday when the Prime Minister accused former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of siding with Muhammad Ali Jinnah in opposing the song, suggesting he did so because it might "irritate Muslims".

While many expected Rahul Gandhi to respond, it was his sister Priyanka who stepped forward to address these claims.

On Tuesday, the Wayanad MP delivered a passionate rebuttal, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of manufacturing the 'Vande Mataram' controversy - a song written by renowned Bengali poet and novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - to score political points ahead of upcoming elections in Bengal.

She further alleged that the Prime Minister and BJP were 'selectively quoting Nehru,' referring to social media posts that presented excerpts from Nehru's letters to Sardar Vallabhai Patel without proper context, creating a misleading impression of bias.

The BJP countered with Amit Shah, who delivered a characteristic sharp response: "Some people feel 'Vande Mataram' is being discussed because the Bengal election is approaching. It is true Bankim babu was born in Bengal but 'Vande Mataram' is not restricted to Bengal…"

The BJP has consistently targeted Congress over 'Vande Mataram,' accusing the party of disrespecting the national song by "pandering to a communal agenda" during its 1937 session and adopting only a partial version as the national song.

Congress responded by claiming that the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, routinely 'avoid' singing the song. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out the "deeply ironic" situation that "those who today claim to be the guardians of nationalism – RSS and BJP – have never sung 'Vande Mataram'..."

The controversy centers on six specific stanzas in which Chatterjee references Hindu goddesses Durga, Kamala (or Lakshmi), and Saraswathi, portraying them as India's "perfect without peer" feminine guardians.

In 1937, the Congress party under Jawaharlal Nehru's leadership decided to use only the first two stanzas for national gatherings. The reasoning was that direct references to Hindu goddesses were considered 'exclusionary' by some members of the Muslim community.

The resolution specifically stated: "Taking all things into consideration, therefore, the Committee recommends that whenever 'Vande Mataram' is sung at national gatherings, only the first two stanzas should be sung".

Importantly, Congress also acknowledged individual freedom "to sing any other song… in addition to, or in place of, the 'Vande Mataram' song".

The BJP now argues that these exclusions demonstrate Congress' 'divisive' intentions, with Prime Minister Modi claiming that dropping these stanzas "sowed the seeds of the nation's division," alluding to the Partition.