TMC to raise ‘Vande Mataram’ curbs in Parl’s Winter Session

Kolkata: After Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee recently expressed concern over reports that MPs were allegedly being restricted from saying ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ inside parliament, Trinamool Congress MPs may also raise “Vande Mataram” issue during the Winter Session in Parliament, slated to start from December 1. Sources said that Trinamool MPs will raise pointed questions on the issue. The matter may also be raised during the all-party meeting on Sunday, a day before the Winter Session begins. Banerjee, from a political rally, had alleged that this could be an attempt to belittle Bengal.

She also made it clear that no such steps by the Centre will be tolerated. Incidentally, a bulletin issued on November 24 by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, instructed that no members should raise slogans such as “Vande Mataram” or “Jai Hind” inside or outside the House. The Secretariat justified the instruction by referring to parliamentary customs and decorum. The guideline came just before the planned full‑day discussion on Vande Mataram — a debate intended to commemorate the 150‑year anniversary of the song and to reflect on its cultural and national significance. Many BJP leaders recently voiced their demands for ‘Vande Mataram’ to be recognised as the national anthem, rather than merely a national song. The centre may also seek to discuss Vande Mataram on the very first day of the winter session for this purpose. While the ruling party in Bengal may take just the opposite stand, asking how the Centre could say that ‘Vande Mataram’ can be restricted from singing. The Winter Session of Parliament is set to begin on December 1 and will continue until the 19th. At the outset of this Session, the Central government aims to indirectly keep the ‘Vande Mataram’ controversy alive. Meanwhile, TMC MPs are all set to take up the issue of “hasty” implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and deaths allegedly linked to it in Bengal during the Winter Session of Parliament.