PM tried to 'rewrite history' in Vande Mataram debate, BJP can't blot Nehru's legacy: Cong

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during the discussion on "Vande Mataram" in the Lok Sabha was intended to "rewrite history" and give a "political colour" to it, and asserted that no matter how much the BJP tries, it will not be able to put a single blot on the contribution of Jawaharlal Nehru. The opposition party also said it was the Congress that gave "Vande Mataram" the importance it deserved and the status of national song. Speaking during the day-long discussion on 150 years of "Vande Mataram" in the Lok Sabha, Congress deputy leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi alleged that it is the prime minister's habit to keep referring to India's first prime minister Nehru and the Congress whenever he speaks on any issue. "He took Nehru's name 14 times and that of the Congress 50 times during the debate on Operation Sindoor. When there was a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, Nehru's name was taken 10 times and that of the Congress 26 times," he said.

Gogoi asserted that if any political party gave "Vande Mataram" the importance it deserved, it was the Congress. He said his party ensured that it is not just looked upon as a political slogan but is given the status of national song. It was in the 1896 Calcutta session of the Congress that Rabindranath Tagore first sang "Vande Mataram", he said. "He (Tagore) wrote to Nehru that the privilege of originally setting the first stanza of Vande Mataram to the tune was mine when the author was still alive," the Congress MP said. He said that in the 1905 Banaras session of the Congress, Sarala Devi Chaudhurani sang "Vande Mataram". "An important amendment was made in this song which was that of population. The original song mentioned 7 crore, but in 1905, during the Banaras session, Sarla Dev Chaudhurani made it 30 crore and turned the focus of the entire country to Vande Mataram," Gogoi said. He said that the PM's speech had two objectives -- to rewrite history and give a political colour to this debate. "It seemed that your political ancestors participated in various movements against the British. So I saw the intention in the PM's speech to rewrite and revise history. The second objective was to give a political colour to this debate," he added. The prime minister also referred to the Congress Working Committee and Nehru. "This is his habit whenever he speaks on an issue, he keeps repeating the name of Nehru and the Congress," Gogoi said. "I want to humbly tell him and his party that no matter how much you try, you will not be able to succeed in putting even one blot on Nehru's contribution," he said. Gogoi pointed out that it was the Muslim League that wanted to say that the whole "Vande Mataram" must be boycotted. "Congress' Maulana Azad said, 'I have no problems with Vande Mataram'. That was the difference between the Congress and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Despite the League putting pressure, a decision was taken in the 1937 session of the Congress that the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at national gatherings," he said. The Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha protested the Congress' decision but the party did not act on their diktat but went by the sentiments of the people.