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Modi Opens Lok Sabha Debate on 150 Years of Vande Mataram With Attack on Congress Over 1937 Move

Modi used the moment to accuse Congress of a 1937 compromise that seeded division.

Overview

  • Parliament set aside 10 hours for discussion in each House, with the ruling NDA allotted three hours in the Lok Sabha and Union home minister Amit Shah to open the Rajya Sabha debate on Tuesday.
  • In his opening address, the prime minister hailed the song’s role in the freedom struggle and alleged Congress "removed lines" in 1937, saying that decision "sowed the seeds of Partition."
  • Congress rejects the charge, citing Rabindranath Tagore’s advice and a 1937 working committee decision to use only two stanzas to address objections to religious imagery in later verses.
  • BJP figures said they will table archival material during the debate, while opposition speakers including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Gaurav Gogoi are slated to counter the government’s narrative.
  • Tensions have also been stoked by a Rajya Sabha Secretariat instruction discouraging slogan-raising such as "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Hind" inside Parliament to maintain decorum.