New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday for his “anti-national” barb at the Congress over its decision to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram, saying “real anti-national activity” is being done by those who are trying to divide the people of the country since 2014.
Sibal said according to Shah, Mahatma Gandhi was “anti-national” as he endorsed the singing of the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram and the entire Constituent Assembly was also “anti-national”as it adopted only the first two stanzas as the national song.
“Rabindranath Tagore endorsed it, then he was anti-national. And therefore, all those who do not sing the four stanzas are anti-national,” Sibal said at a press conference.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has decided that it will sing only the first two stanzas of the national song, Sibal pointed out.
“And Amit Shahji, in that context, made a public statement and said the Congress party is anti-national. And he stated that it is anti-national because way back in 1937, the CWC resolution was that only the first two stanzas should be sung and that has been the agenda of the Congress, but the BJP already wants the other four stanzas and therefore, ‘we are nationalistic and the Congress party is anti-national’,” he said.
“Now, just historically, I want to state a few facts that probably Amit Shahji is not aware of, but I will remind him that it is not just the 1937 resolution of the Congress party, but it is the resolution of the Constituent Assembly which said we will not sing the other stanzas but only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram,” the former Congress leader said.
So according to Shah, the entire Constituent Assembly was “anti-national”, which means that those of the Jana Sangh sitting there were also anti-national, he said.
“Mahatma Gandhiji endorsed it, so Mahatma Gandhi was anti-national, according to Amit Shah. The president of India endorsed it, so the then president was anti-national. Rabindranath Tagore endorsed it, then he was anti-national. And therefore, all those who do not sing all the stanzas are anti-national,” Sibal said.
He asked whether the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has ever sung Vande Mataram in its shakhas.
“It has not. So you are also anti-national,” he said.
When Narendra Modi became the chief minister of Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not sing all the stanzas of the national song, Sibal said and asked if Modi was also anti-national.
“And Vajpayeeji, when he became the prime minister of India, he also never directed that all the stanzas should be sung, so he was also anti-national, according to Shah,” he said.
Sibal said he is shocked that the home minister of the country can make such a statement and call those who fought against the British anti-national.
“I mean, we have fought the British, and you know the history of Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram was sung because it symbolised the anti-imperial struggle, and you (RSS) collaborated with the imperials. You collaborated with the British. You never took part in the Quit India movement. Never. You never took part in any satyagraha,” Sibal said.
“Real anti-national activity is being done by those who want to divide the people of this country and this is what you have been trying to do since 2014,” he said.
Sibal questioned if the leaders of the ruling BJP who do not sing the full version of Vande Mataram are also “anti-national”.
Earlier, in a post on X, Sibal said, “Amit Shah on: CWC decision on two-stanza Vande Mataram. Calls it ‘anti-national’. My question: Did: BJP in private or official functions sing all stanzas since 1950? Modiji as Gujarat CM? PM Vajpayee?” “You anti-national then? Exposing your vote-bank politics!” the Independent MP asked.
The row over Vande Mataram intensified on Thursday, with Shah launching a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress, alleging that its decision to sing just two stanzas of the national song is “anti-national” and aimed at appeasing its vote bank.
The Congress hit back, with former Union minister Jairam Ramesh calling BJP leaders “fraudulent nationalists”.
The war of words followed the CWC’s decision on Wednesday to sing only two stanzas of the national song, instead of its full rendition.
Defending the Congress’s decision, Ramesh said the 1937 resolution, recommending that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at national gatherings, represented the considered position of several leading figures of the freedom movement. PTI ASK RC
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