'Entire Bengal fuming, Congress must apologise': CM Suvendu Adhikari slams Sonia Gandhi over Vande Mataram row

West Bengal chief minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday sought an apology from the Congress over an alleged incident during the party's Independence Day event at the AICC headquarters on August 15.

Adhikari criticised Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi allegedly “objecting” to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram, calling it an “insult” to nationalism and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, PTI news agency reported.

The West Bengal CM said the entire state was “fuming” owing to the incident, and claimed that Congress was “trying to satisfy a particular vote bank”, calling it appeasement politics.

“Yesterday was Independence Day, and the manner in which the Congress party disrespected 'Vande Mataram' while it was being sung at the party headquarters has come to light... 'Vande Mataram' is deeply linked to nationalism, patriotism, and our national identity,” Adhikari said, according to ANI news agency. He further said there had been “response or explanation regarding the letter from either Sonia Gandhi or the Congress party.”

What is the row?

A video from the Independence Day event at the headquarters of the Congress showed Gandhi speaking to party president Mallikarjun Kharge while “Vande Mataram” was being played.

Both Gandhi and Kharge were then seen gesturing allegedly to stop the song. However, the Congress has denied that there was any attempt to stop the singing of the full version of “Vande Mataram”. The party said Gandhi was only asking for a chair for Kharge.

Also Read | BJP accuses Sonia Gandhi of unease during Vande Mataram at Independence Day event, Congress reacts

Bankim Chattopadhyay’s descendant seeks apology

The incident also drew criticism from Sumitro Chatterjee, a direct descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Chatterjee, who is also a BJP MLA, alleged that there was “discomfort” and repeated attempts to stop the singing of the full version of “Vande Mataram” during the event at the Congress headquarters.

He described the alleged incident as “not merely unfortunate but a shameless repetition of a historical mistake”, PTI reported. Chatterjee wrote a letter to Gandhi, expressing “deep pain, emptiness, and anger” and saying he was speaking as an ordinary citizen, a patriot and a direct descendant of Bankim Chandra.

The BJP MLA from Naihati said that any reluctance to recite the full song on the soil of free India was an insult to the sacrifices of freedom fighters such as Khudiram Bose. He further invoked Sri Aurobindo's description of “Vande Mataram” as a mantra that initiated the nation into the “religion of patriotism”.

He highlighted the song's role in India's freedom movement, referring to Rabindranath Tagore's rendition of “Vande Mataram” at the 1896 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress and Sarala Devi Chaudhurani's recitation at the 1905 Benares Congress session.

Union home minister Amit Shah also accused the Congress of “insulting” the national song, demanding the party apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra. "If there is any shame left, you should fold your hands and apologise to Bankim Babu's immortal spirit and the people," he said, according to PTI.