Assam Congress leader sparks row after singing Bangladeshi national anthem during party meeting

A political storm has erupted in Assam’s Barak Valley after senior Congress leader Bidhu Bhushan Das allegedly sang “Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami Tomay Bhalobasi”—Bangladesh’s national anthem—during a Congress Seva Dal meeting in Sribhumi on Monday, reported TOI.

Das, who hails from Bhanga in Sribhumi district and formerly headed the Seva Dal’s district unit, began his address at the executive committee meeting of the Karimganj (Sribhumi) district Seva Dal at Indira Bhavan with the song.

Written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 during Bengal’s first partition under British rule, the song was later adopted as Bangladesh’s national anthem.

Political leaders react strongly

The incident quickly drew criticism from political circles and social media. Assam minister Krishnendu Paul said he had received reports of a Congress leader performing Bangladesh’s anthem at a party function.

“Congress can do anything. Everything about that party is absurd — they don’t even know when or what to sing,” Paul remarked in Sribhumi, according to the report. “I will review the video and request police to investigate and take necessary action,” he added.

Congress leaders, however, rejected the accusations, calling them politically motivated.

Shahadat Ahmed Choudhury (Swapan), chairperson of the media department of the Karimganj (Sribhumi) district Congress committee, defended Das, clarifying that he had only sung a Rabindra Sangeet, not Bangladesh’s anthem.

“‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ is a song composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Das began by saying he would start with a Rabindra Sangeet,” Choudhury said. “He is a respected leader who hoists the Indian flag at Indira Bhavan every Independence Day. There is no question of him singing it as the anthem of Bangladesh,” he added.