The Opposition parties on Monday (December 8, 2025) slammed the BJP for trying to appropriate iconic leaders of India and said the National Song Vande Mataram was used as a tool to unite people during the struggle for Independence and should thus be used in that spirit.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on 150 years of the song, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP had long been in the game of appropriation. “Time and again it has been seen that those on the ruling side try to appropriate iconic leaders who never belonged to them.”
The National Song should not be used as a tool to impose one’s beliefs on others, he said, claiming that those who did not participate in the freedom struggle were now talking of the values of Vande Mataram.
Congress’s Deputy Leader in the House, Gaurav Gogoi, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it a habit of referring to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Congress party whenever he spoke on any issue.
“He took Nehruji’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.
“I want to ask, when the Quit India Movement was taking place, where were the political ancestors of the BJP? It is recorded in history that the political ancestors of the BJP had said that one should not participate in the Quit India Movement,” he said.
Congress MP Deepender Hooda charged the government of politicising even the National Song for the sake of votes. “India is our mother and no true devotee can bring his mother into politics. Today, attempts are being made to use nationalism for electoral gains, “ Mr. Hooda said. ”Devotion to the motherland is being used for devotion to votes. Some people pronounce Vande Voteram more than Vande Mataram. The country is watching all this,” he said. He demanded that a statue of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay be installed in Parliament
Trinamool Congress member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, “Vande Mataram was not only India’s National Song but also a legacy that millions sang to fuel the struggle for Independence.”
“Those in power today often fail to grasp this sentiment. Savarkar, for instance, wrote mercy petitions while in jail, securing his own freedom. At that very time, 398 Bengalis out of 585 prisoners in the Cellular Jail devoted themselves to India’s Independence, putting aside their own pursuit of freedom. While young Khudiram Bose sacrificed his life, the ancestors of today’s ruling party were busy writing mercy petitions,” she said.
She also highlighted that PM Modi referred to “Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay as ‘Bankim da’, creating the impression that he was having a casual conversation with the literary icon at a local tea shop.”
“Bengalis will not tolerate the belittling of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, just as they did not tolerate the disrespect shown to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar when his bust was vandalised,” she said.
Trinamool member Mahua Moitra questioned the ruling party’s claim to the legacy of the freedom struggle, asking, “Who in the BJP can claim even a tenuous link to the freedom movement that today you feel you are the guardians of Vande Mataram?” She accused the BJP government of deepening religious divides while pretending to uphold the spirit of the song.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member A. Raja claimed that historically documented events show that Vande Mataram was projected in ways that excluded Muslims in the early 20th century. He said the controversy surrounding the song was not created by the community but by those who framed it as a “Hindu-only” anthem.
“The Prime Minister asked who did the division in Vande Mataram. I want to know, did the division in Vande Mataram lead to the division of the country? And if the Prime Minister says a crucial aspect must be dealt with today, what exactly is that crucial division we need to understand now?” Mr. Raja asked.
“The Prime Minister asks who divided — the division was done by your forefathers, not by Muslims,” he added.
At this point, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, objected. “What do you mean by your forefathers? It should be our forefathers”, Mr. Raja said.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, BJP MP Anuraj Thakur said while Vande Mataram energised them, it gave “allergy” to some in the Opposition.
AIMIM member Assaduddin Owaisi stressed that democracy had survived in India only because the state and religion were kept separate.
Published – December 08, 2025 10:09 pm IST
