‘Vande Mataram’: Mamata welcomes PM’s initiative for Lok Sabha discussion

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to initiate a discussion on “Vande Mataram” in the Lok Sabha, saying her party has no objection to it.

Banerjee was speaking at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport before leaving for an official trip to North Bengal on Monday morning. After Modi initiated a day-long discussion on 150 years of Vande Mataram in the lower House of Parliament, Banerjee told reporters: “Let him do it. We have no problem.”

Banerjee had earlier expressed her concern over reports that MPs were allegedly being restricted from saying “Jai Hind” and “Vande Mataram” inside Parliament. Banerjee had also questioned whether attempts were made to undermine the state’s identity.

She had also pointed out how these slogans, once used by the freedom fighters, can be forgotten. TMC earlier claimed that a bulletin issued on November 24 by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat instructed that no members should raise slogans such as “Vande Mataram” and “Jai Hind” inside or outside the House. Banerjee on Monday once again raised questions as to how a section within BJP can claim to serve the country without understanding its history. “Some BJP leaders are saying they do not like Netaji.

You do not like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Bankim Chandra, Vidyasagar or Raja Ram Mohan Roy, and you continue to insult them. How have they entered politics without properly knowing the history and Bengal’s contribution?” she asked.