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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a special debate in the Lok Sabha on Vande Mataram, marking 150 years of the song. Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and adopted as India’s National Song in 1950, Vande Mataram will be discussed for 10 hours each in both Houses this week during the ongoing winter sessionClick here for Winter Session live updatesThe Rajya Sabha will take up the debate on Tuesday, with Union home minister Amit Shah leading for the BJP.Here are top quotes from PM Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha:
- “When Vande Mataram turned 50 years old, the country was forced to live in slavery (British rule). When Vande Mataram turned 100 years old, the country was shackled in the chains of Emergency…Constitution was throttled.”
- “The mantra that energised and inspired India’s freedom movement and showed the path of courage and determination. Remembering that sacred Vande Mataram today is a great privilege for all of us in this House.”
- Vande Matram was written at a time when, after the uprising of 1857, the British government was alarmed and was unleashing oppression.A campaign was underway to push the British national anthem ‘God Save the Queen’ into every household. Through Vande Mataram, Shri Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay responded to this challenge with great strength and resolve.”
BJP vs Congress on Vande MataramPM Modi recently accused the Congress of excluding several stanzas of the song in 1937 and “sowing the seeds of Partition” — a mindset he said still poses a “challenge” to the country.The Congress has countered by invoking Rabindranath Tagore’s support for limiting Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas. The party argues that Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the country’s first prime minister in 1947, accepted this position due to the “complexity” of the later verses and “objections” raised by sections of Muslims.
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