Kolkata: The political controversy surrounding the recitation of the national song Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day has escalated further. Sumitro Chatterjee, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Naihati and a direct descendant of the song’s legendary composer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, has demanded an unconditional apology from senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
The dispute erupted after a video from the August 15 celebrations at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi went viral on social media. Several political leaders alleged that Sonia Gandhi displayed visible discomfort and attempted to stop the full rendition of the national song midway by gesturing to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the Congress party firmly rejected these accusations. The party clarified that she was merely instructing someone to arrange a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a considerable amount of time.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi, the West Bengal legislator expressed his deep anguish and anger over the episode. Writing as an ordinary citizen and a descendant of the revered poet, Chatterjee described the alleged interruption as a shameless repetition of a historical mistake. He stated that the repeated attempts to stop the full version of the immortal song deeply hurt the cultural sentiments of the entire nation, particularly the people of West Bengal.
Highlighting the profound significance of Vande Mataram in the Indian freedom struggle, Chatterjee recalled its historical journey. He mentioned its rendition by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Congress session and its emergence as a powerful unifying cry for countless freedom fighters like Sri Aurobindo, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Khudiram Bose.
The BJP leader also accused the Congress of maintaining a dual policy. He claimed that the party had previously bowed to unreasonable objections raised by Mohammad Ali Jinnah and truncated the song in October 1937. Chatterjee argued that the shadow of that past compromise was once again visible in the recent incident.
Emphasizing that Vande Mataram is not the ancestral property of any political outfit but a sacred national symbol consecrated by the blood of martyrs, Chatterjee urged the Congress leadership to introspect. He warned that history never forgives those who fail to respect their own mantra of freedom and firmly demanded a public apology to all Indian citizens.