&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Nehru deliberately removed Ma Durga stanzas from Vande Mataram on religious grounds, claims BJP")
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India has accused the main opposition party Congress and the former prime minister of the country Jawahar Lal Nehru of altering the lyrics of the national song, 'Vande Mataram'. BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan on Friday said the ex-Prime Minister specifically removed references to the goddess Durga to appease one community.
Kesavan alleged that the Congress, under Nehru's in 1937 adopted only a shorter version of the national song deliberately.
"It is imperative for the younger generation to know how the Congress, pandering to its communal agenda, adopted a shortened Vande Mataram at its Faizpur session. The glorious Vande Mataram became the voice of our nation’s unity and solidarity, celebrating our motherland, instilling nationalistic spirit and fostering patriotism," wrote Kesavan on X.
"But the Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru citing religious grounds deliberately removed stanzas of Vande Mataram which hailed Goddess Ma Durga," Kesavan added.
Citing a letter written to Subhash Chandra Bose, the BJP leader said that Nehru reportedly said the background of Vande Mataram was "likely to irritate Muslims".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a mass recital of the full version of Vande Mataram across the nation on the 150th anniversary of its creation, confirmed Kesavan.
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Earlier today the PM also took to X to talk about how the 'Vande Mataram' song was truncated
"In 1937, a portion of 'Vande Mataram' was severed... it was torn apart. The division sowed the seeds of the nation's division. It is important for today's generation to understand why... Divisive thinking remains a challenge today," Modi wrote on X.
Congress Reacts
Responding to the allegations, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said "It is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism - the RSS and the BJP, have never sung Vande Mataram or our National Anthem Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices. Instead, they continue to sing Namaste Sada Vatsale, a song glorifying their organisations, not the nation."
