Nehru betrayed Vande Mataram that inspired freedom struggle: PM Modi

Priyanka Gandhi calls for debate to close chapter on 'complaints, insults' against India's first PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday initiated the debate on the 150th anniversary of national song Vande Mataram, where he alleged that country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru truncated the song that spoke of the glory of India’s ancient civilisation under the pressure from the Muslim League, which led to the country’s partition.

 

Modi also yet again accused the Congress of indulging in “appeasement politics” and turning into “MMC”, or Muslim League-Maoist Congress.

 

He said the Congress didn’t celebrate the 100 years of the composing of the song in 1975 when it “throttled” the Constitution during the Emergency. He said the Congress leadership betrayed the song that inspired the entire country during the freedom struggle against British rule. 

In her intervention, Congress’ Wayanad Lok Sabha member Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called for a debate in the House on the “mistakes” that Nehru committed, and whatever “insults” that the treasury benches would like to throw at his memory to “close the chapter” on it once and for all. “And after that, let us discuss today’s issues like unemployment, inflation, and women's issues.”

 

“As they say in English, once and for all, let us close the chapter. Let us close it. The country will hear what the complaints are -- what did Indiraji do, what did Rajivji do, what is parivarvaad (dynastic politics), what mistakes did Nehruji make. Listen to this and then it is over. After that, unemployment, inflation, women's issues -- discuss those,” she said.

 

The Congress leader accused the treasury benches of holding the debate on Vande Mataram to distract attention because “this government wants to hide the reality of the current situation in this country”. Priyanka Gandhi as well as other Opposition MPs said the debate on the national song has been proposed by the government with an eye on next year’s West Bengal Assembly polls.

 

Trinamool Congress's Kalyan Banerjee said, “The debate was started by PM Modi. I am really sorry to say, it was below standard. The debate was for Vande Mataram, not for attacking Nehru or Indira Gandhi,” he said, accusing the PM and Home Minister Amit Shah of being “Bengali haters”.

 

In his speech, the PM said Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah opposed Vande Mataram for the first time on October 15, 1937, from Lucknow. Nehru wrote to Subhash Chandra Bose five days later, sharing Jinnah’s sentiments and observing that Vande Mataram’s ‘Anandmath’ background had the potential to "irritate the Muslims", Modi said.

 

In her speech, Priyanka Gandhi said the PM has not been true to facts. “Modi ji mentioned a letter in the House, in which he said that on October 20, Nehru ji had written to Subhas Chandra Bose. But the Prime Minister did not mention the letter written on October 17, which Subhas Chandra Bose ji had written to Jawaharlal Nehru ji.

 

“On October 20, Nehru had replied to it (Bose’s letter). PM Modi quoted one line of this reply here, but the rest of what Nehru ji wrote was – ‘There is no doubt that the present outcry against Vande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the Communalists. Whatever we do, we cannot pander to Communalist feelings’,” she said.

 

She claimed, “Prime Minister Modi is not the PM he used to be; it is showing that his self-confidence is decreasing and his policies are weakening the country.” “My friends in the government are silent because deep inside they also know this,” she said.