Cong afraid of discussion on Vande Mataram: Anurag

BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday criticised Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for not attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address in the Lok Sabha.

He said the Gandhi family was afraid to discuss the national song Vande Mataram.

Incidentally, Priyanka spoke just minutes after Thakur had ended his speech.

Addressing the Lower House during a discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, Thakur lauded Modi, saying his address would serve as a historical document for the coming generations.

“Prime Minister Modi initiated a discussion on Vande Mataram. In the 100th anniversary year of Vande Mataram, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency and destroyed the Constitution. Prime Minister Modi, in his address, kept forward the history and cultural significance of Vande Mataram. It will become an important document for the coming generations, telling how Vande Mataram united the nation.”

“It is not just a song but a Maha Mantra. It is song of the nation’s soul, pride and aspirations. It is a tradition of love towards the nation, which is why the Congress is afraid of it. They are so afraid that when PM Modi began the discussion, two members of the family that had ruled for so long were not present in the House...,” he said.

“I heard they were planning to recite Vande Mataram without reading it. We are still waiting. The stanzas removed by Nehru included references to Maa Durga — removing them was like destroying the soul of India,” Thakur said.

Calling it sacred, the BJP MP said, “Vande Mataram is pure like verses of the Vedas, pure like the Quran, and pure like the Bible.”

“On the 150th anniversary, I repeat, the British opposed Vande Mataram, Jinnah opposed it — and I now ask whether the ‘Munna’ of Jinnah opposes it too,” he said, in an indirect attack on the Congress leadership.

Attacking both Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Thakur claimed that while Rahul is trying to limit recitation of Vande Mataram to only one line, in 2009 (during the Lok Sabha poll), P Chidambaram had gone to Deoband where a resolution against the national song was passed.

Targetting Yadav, Thakur said the Samajwadi Party leader says that children have the right to choose which song they want to listen to, however, he needs to be reminded that Vande Mataram is a national song.

BJP MP from Mandi Kangana Ranaut backed Modi’s speech in Parliament on ‘Vande Mataram’ and said once again the Prime Minister had made the country proud.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Ranaut said, “It is a matter of pride for the country that the song which rose as a spark of the freedom struggle and reduced the British empire to ashes is now receiving its due credit. The Congress government had removed the portion mentioning Goddess Durga. The Congress has always been anti-women.”

“As an artist, I feel immense pride that a song, a poem, a work of art like this is being discussed in Parliament for 10 hours.”

She added, “As an artist, I have observed that Prime Minister Modi has always valued art and artists, which is a form of soft power — especially words — and how they can uplift self-confidence. I believe that when the ‘Amritkaal’ began in 2014, it marked the golden era of our history.”

The actress-turned-politician said with the economy, there was also a significant challenge before him, to restore the pride of women that was harmed by the Congress.

“I have personal experience, they (Congress) have commented on my clothes, my work and even insulted women from Mandi by asking about their ‘price’,” she said.