Aim of debate on Vande Mataram is to malign Nehru: Jairam in RS

During a discussion on Vande Mataram in the Upper House on Wednesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of distorting history and alleged that the motive behind holding a debate on the national song was to malign India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

He criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other leaders from the ruling party, claiming they “set out to be historians but end up becoming ‘distorians’”.

Ramesh cited letters exchanged between several leaders — including Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Rajendra Prasad and Nehru — over Vande Mataram.

“Prasad wrote to Patel on September 28, 1937, raising concerns prevalent in large sections of our political system about Vande Mataram, and asking that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) take a stand. Was that appeasement? Are you accusing Prasad and Sardar Patel of appeasement?” Ramesh said.

On Tuesday, Shah had told the Upper House that after Vande Mataram was truncated to two stanzas, the politics of appeasement began — a process he said ultimately led to the Partition of India.

“On October 28, 1937, the CWC passed a resolution on Vande Mataram... Mahatma Gandhi, Bose, Patel, Nehru, Maulana Azad, Acharya Kripalani, GB Pant — they were all present,” Ramesh said.

He added that on October 30, 1927, Tagore had issued a press statement saying he had advised the CWC to adopt the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national anthem, and that it was later adopted as the national song.

Ramesh said a communal environment had been created in 1937. Without naming the RSS, he criticised the organisation for fanning communal sentiments.

“Many organisations were responsible... One of them, which is celebrating its centenary now, was established in 1925. They have spread communal fire, and today they tell us the Congress engaged in appeasement,” he said.

Ramesh further accused the ruling party of insulting Tagore. “Why is the government making this a Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay vs Tagore issue? They wanted to insult Nehru, but they ended up insulting Tagore,” he said.

He also pointed out that BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee had formed a government with AK Fazlul Huq, who later presented the Lahore Resolution for the formation of Pakistan.

“A lot has been said. The aim of this whole debate is to malign Nehru. This is part of that project... You are insulting people who sacrificed their lives for the nation,” he added.

Meanwhile, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar demanded a special discussion in Parliament on the contributions of Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar.

“It’s all the more important today because Godse is creeping into the social fabric of our lives,” he said, adding that the discussion on Vande Mataram could have been a healthy debate, but PM Modi — the first speaker — made it controversial.