BJP Accuses Nehru and Congress of Altering 'Vande Mataram' as Modi Leads Full Version Recital on 150th Anniversary

New Delhi:

BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan on Friday accused former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress of "brazenly pandering to a communal agenda" by altering the lyrics of the national song 'Vande Mataram', specifically by removing references to the goddess Durga.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today participate in a mass recital of the "full version of our glorious 'Vande Mataram'" across the nation, marking the 150th anniversary of its creation, Kesavan said.

Before the recital, the Prime Minister criticized the Congress, stating, "In 1937, a portion of 'Vande Mataram' was severed... it was torn apart. The division sowed the seeds of the nation's division. It is important for today's generation to understand why... Divisive thinking remains a challenge today."

In his post on X, Kesavan criticized Nehru and shared letters to Netaji Subhas Bose from September and October 1937. In the latter, Nehru wrote that the "background of 'Vande Mataram' is likely to irritate the Muslims".

It is imperative for our younger generation to know how the Congress party brazenly pandering to its communal agenda under the Presidentship of Nehru, adopted only a truncated Vande Mataram as the party's national song in its 1937 Faizpur Session , while PM @narendramodi ji today…

The reference was to controversy over sections of the song that praise the Hindu goddess Durga.

"Nehru spitefully writes that anybody considering the words in Vande Mataram as anything to do with a goddess was absurd," Kesavan declared, although the referenced section in the September letter suggests Nehru meant such an interpretation of the lyrics is absurd, not the person.

"He also derisively opines that Vande Mataram is not suitable as a national song," Kesavan declared, referring to the section where Nehru wrote (with no apparent derision) "… I also think the song is not suitable as a national anthem (because) it contains too many difficult words".

The lyrics, Nehru also wrote, are "out of keeping with modern notions of nationalism".

"He (Nehru) went on to say 'there does seem some substance in it', i.e., regarding outcry against Vande Mataram, and that 'people who are communistically inclined have been affected by it'."

In that October letter, however, Nehru also wrote, "Whatever we do cannot be to pander to communalists' feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist."

The controversy over the goddess Durga references emerges amid a contentious build-up to next year's Bengal election.

The Congress responded by claiming that the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, "avoid" singing the song during their meetings and rallies.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the RSS prefers to sing 'Namaste Sada Vatasale', a musical prayer, rather than India's national song. "It is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism - RSS and BJP, have never sung 'Vande Mataram'..."

Kesavan then directed criticism at Rahul Gandhi for his "malicious" remark from March 2024, when Gandhi said, "There is a word 'shakti' (might) in Hindi. We are fighting against a 'shakti' (might of the state)." The comment was made during a speech addressing alleged voter fraud by the BJP in the Maharashtra election.

Gandhi was seen as referring to opposition claims that the BJP uses central agencies like the CBI, ED, and Income Tax Department to target and intimidate political rivals, particularly before elections.

The PM and BJP had accused Gandhi and the opposition, including the Congress-led INDIA bloc, of wanting to destroy 'shakti', extending the comment to "...denying the existence of Lord Ram." "I accept their challenge. I will sacrifice my life," the Prime Minister had said in Telangana's Jagtial.

Gandhi responded by accusing the PM of "always trying to change the meaning of my words..."

Referencing that incident and recent remarks that the PM had manufactured 'drama' on Chhath Puja for the Bihar election, Kesavan wrote, "The Hindu virodhi mentality of Nehru finds a pungent echo in Rahul Gandhi who maligned the sacred Chhath as 'drama', hurting the sentiments of crores..."

With input from agencies

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