PANAJI: Amid mounting controversy over the rendition of Vande Mataram during Independence Day celebrations, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge remained defiant on Tuesday, asserting that he sang the exact same version of the national song that leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel sang.
Highlighting his party’s legacy, Kharge added that if singing that version constitutes a crime, the government should register an FIR against the late national leaders.
The controversy stems from video footage from the Congress headquarters showing Kharge and Sonia Gandhi conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15, prompting the BJP to accuse the party’s top leadership of disrespecting “Vande Mataram” and demand a public apology.
“I sang the same ‘Vande Mataram’ that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru sang. If singing it is a crime, then they have been committing that crime for the past 18 years. If this is a crime, then file a case against Gandhi ji. If this is a crime, file one against Nehru ji. If this is a crime, then against Vallabhbhai Patel. They are unaware of the fact that, even before they were born, Congress had passed a resolution determining which national songs to adopt for the country. It is not the case that whatever you say becomes the national standard. Tomorrow, another government might come to power; if they say something, that becomes the rule. We have simply continued the practice that has been in place for 90 years,” he told reporters.
