Amit Shah accuses Congress of insulting Vande Mataram; Sonia Gandhi targeted in row

Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday led the BJP's attack on the Congress, accusing Sonia Gandhi of insulting the national song Vande Mataram by allegedly asking for it to be stopped midway during the party's Independence Day function. Shah demanded that the Congress apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote the song.

Read more: Insult to nationalism, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: West Bengal CM on Vande Mataram row

Addressing a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Shah said that thousands of freedom fighters faced bullets, lathis and imprisonment while singing the song. He demanded that Congress apologise to the people and to the "immortal soul" of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He also accused the party of forgetting Vande Mataram because of vote-bank politics.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh without mentioning Shah or specifically referring to the Vande Mataram row involving Sonia Gandhi, later wrote on a post on X: "A man who insulted Dr Ambedkar on floor of the Rajya Sabha on Dec 17, 2024. A man who belongs to an ideology that did not see fit to unfurl the tiranga at its headquarters till Jan 2002. A man who orchestrated the Delhi Police's brutalities on peacefully protesting youth. Such a man is now demanding an apology from the Congress to divert attention away from the real issues of the day..."

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Stepping up BJP's attack, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari said that her "objection" to singing the full version of Vande Mataram was an "insult" to nationalism and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.