‘Your people worked for Britishers when Congress went to jail chanting Vande Matram in 1921’: Kharge slams BJP in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Congress president and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha, saying that the ideological predecessors of the BJP were working for the Britishers when his party leaders were being jailed during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1921, while chanting ‘Vande Matram’.

Participating in the Vande Mataram debate in Rajya Sabha, Congress chief said that his party did the work of making ‘Vande Mataram’ a slogan during the freedom struggle.

“Your (BJP) history is that you were always against the freedom struggle and patriotic songs. When Mahatma Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1921, lakhs of freedom fighters from the Congress went to jail chanting ‘Vande Mataram’. What were you doing? You were working for the Britishers,” he said.

He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves no chance to insult Jawaharlal Nehru. “Home Minister Amit Shah follows the same,” Kharge added.

Rajya Sabha is holding a special discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday dismissed allegations that the Rajya Sabha’s special discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram was politically timed ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, asserting that critics “need to think afresh” about the national song’s legacy and importance.

Speaking in the Upper House, Shah said some Opposition MPs had said the debate was linked to electoral politics in West Bengal. “Some people believe that because there are elections in Bengal, this discussion is being held. They want to link the glorification of Vande Mataram with the West Bengal elections. I think they need to reconsider their understanding,” Shah said.

He described the song as an “immortal creation that awakens devotion and duty toward Mother India,” and added that those questioning the discussion’s purpose must “think afresh, with clarity”.

Vande Mataram was initially composed independently and later included in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel “Anandamath” (published in 1882).
November 7, 2025, marked the 150th anniversary of India’s National Song Vande Mataram, which translates to “Mother, I Bow to Thee”. (ANI)