The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, in a united voice, criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the second day of the debate on the 150th year of the National Song, Vande Mataram, and said that in its pursuit of defaming the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Narendra Modi Government was maligning the entire leadership of the national movement, including Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi.
'Vande Mataram' row: Congress cites historian's remarks referring to Tagore's advice on song, slams PM
Opposition members said the leaders of the BJP were trying to distort history, as no one from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) participated in the freedom struggle. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “The BJP, by trying to malign Nehru, was insulting freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country.
“Those who have spoken from the other side have proved. They wanted to be historians, but they have become ‘distortions’,” Mr. Ramesh said, citing the speech of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the subject.
Quoting from a book by the grandnephew of Subhash Chandra Bose and former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sugata Bose, Mr. Ramesh said that even Rabindranath Tagore had supported a Congress resolution on the Vande Mataram.
