Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Nov 7: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday after former Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri claimed that India’s national anthem was written to welcome the British.

Condemning the statement, West Bengal minister Shashi Panja accused the BJP of being “anti-Bengal” and of deliberately attempting to insult Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who composed the national anthem.

“The BJP is completely misinformed about nationalism and the national anthem. This is a deliberate insult to Rabindranath Tagore, whom we revere as God in West Bengal. Their idea is to attack Bengal, its culture, and its icons,” Panja said, demanding that the BJP make its stance clear and ask Kageri to resign over his remarks.

TMC leaders said such comments reflect the BJP’s growing hostility towards Bengal’s heritage and cultural figures. The controversy erupted just as the national song Vande Mataram marks its 150th anniversary this week.

Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and first published in Bangadarshan on November 7, 1875, Vande Mataram has long stood as a symbol of India’s unity, inspiring generations of freedom fighters and patriots alike.