New Delhi: Congress president and the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday reminded the BJP that when its ideological ancestors were too scared of patriotism and were in the service of the British, the grand old party popularised ‘Vande Mataram’ and made it the theme song of the freedom movement, with its leaders and workers dying and going to jail while reciting it.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the 150th anniversary of the national song, Kharge blasted the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selectively targeting Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Countering Prime Minister Modi’s charges that Nehru removed four stanzas from the song to appease the Muslim League and its leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Congress leader reminded the BJP that it was their founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who had formed a government in alliance with the Muslim League in Bengal and not Pandit Nehru.
He added that the decision to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song was taken in the Congress Working Committee meeting held in 1937.
Kharge said, those present in the meeting that approved only the first two stanzas as the national song, included besides Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Abul Kalam Azad, Acharya Kripalani, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Dr Rajendra Prasad, GB Pant and others.
“Why target Pandit Nehru selectively?” he asked, pointing out, it was a collective decision of all these leaders.
The Leader of the Opposition remarked that attacking these tall leaders cannot divert attention from the real issues.
He added that the purpose of the House must be to focus on the burning issues facing the nation, because the true tribute to ‘Bharat Mata’ will be paid only when the Parliament debates the concerns of the people and their solutions.
He specially referred to the falling value of rupee against the US dollar and reminded Prime Minister Modi what he had said on the same issue as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2012.
He quoted Modi as having alleged that it was due to the corruption that the value of rupee had fallen.
“Is it because of the same reasons that the value of rupee has fallen today, as you had attributed to its fall then?” he asked while leaving the treasury benches surprised.
“It is like a Himalayan fall, the way the rupee’s value has fallen,” he said.
Kharge also referred to the foreign policy disaster during the NDA regime, pointing out how the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, which were traditional allies, had grown too distant from India.
He pointed out that Nepal was coming closer to China and Bangladesh, for the first time since 1971, was moving closer to Pakistan.
He also said that China was expanding its influence in South Asia at the cost of India’s interests and influence.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi’s claims of possessing a 56-inch chest, he asked, “what is the point of having such a broad chest when you cannot defend the country’s interest and cannot stand up to Chinese bullying?”
He referred to aggressive expansionist claims of China over Arunachal Pradesh, pointing out how a woman from the state had been detained for 18 hours at a Chinese airport and was told that her Indian passport was illegal and she should apply for a Chinese passport.
Kharge urged the government to stop spreading falsehoods and mud slinging at national heroes to cover up its own failures.
He said that whenever BJP leaders insult those who sacrificed everything for India’s freedom, it only becomes clearer that they and their ideological forefathers had no role in the country’s independence.
He also advised the government not to make a mockery of itself by questioning the wisdom of the heroes of the freedom struggle.
