New Delhi: A controversy erupted after visuals from the Congress party’s 80th Independence Day celebrations at its headquarters showed senior leaders interacting while the national song Vande Mataram was being played.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticised the Congress and demanded an apology, while the Congress rejected any suggestion of deliberate disrespect.
BJP parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey shared a video on X, stating: “Here is an excerpt of the conversation that took place between Sonia Gandhi ji and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ji regarding the insult to the national song Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters today. Let the country decide; it is appropriate for me to keep my mouth shut.”
The video (IANS does not confirm its audio‑visuals), recorded at Indira Bhawan, shows Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Sonia Gandhi gesturing and speaking to each other as Vande Mataram was being sung. Both leaders then called a party member and appeared to give instructions.
The English subtitles of the video show LoP Rahul Gandhi saying, “We need not sing. We need not sing Vande Mataram. It’s our version of Vande Mataram.” At the end of the video, the subtitles show him saying, “Hum yahan pe apna gana ga rahe hain (We are singing our own song here).”
The BJP described the episode as an insult to the national song and demanded an apology. Addressing reporters, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi noted that this was the first Independence Day on which Vande Mataram was sung in its full, uncut and uninterrupted form. He recalled that on the intervening night of August 14 and 15, 1947, the first Constituent Assembly of independent India had begun its proceedings with the rendition of Vande Mataram, as the national anthem had not yet been adopted.
Trivedi criticised the Congress leadership, saying: “At this time we have seen a very ugly moment when at the head office of the Congress, it was seen that their supreme leader Sonia Gandhi, their super President LoP Rahul Gandhi and sitting President Mallikarjun Kharge ji were not attentive while the national song was being sung and rather they were casually talking to each other, passing remarks and even calling someone. This shows the utter disrespect by the Congress party towards the national song Vande Mataram.”
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, however, clarified that there was “no attempt” to stop the rendition of the national song. The party maintained that the leaders’ interaction did not amount to any deliberate interruption or disrespect.
The episode has triggered sharp political exchanges, with the BJP projecting it as evidence of the Congress’s alleged indifference towards national symbols, while the Congress has sought to dismiss the charges as politically motivated. The full context of the conversation between the leaders remains a matter of public discussion following the release of the video.
(IANS)
