Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 16: Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi continued to face criticism over her actions during the rendition of Vande Mataram a day earlier, even as the Trinamool Congress and DMK came out in her support, while the CPI-M asked the Congress to clarify its position on the national song.
In a video statement, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the BJP of creating a controversy over the national song and the national flag.
"The BJP has now been surrounded from all sides and is losing popularity, so now it is creating a forced controversy over the national song and the national flag," he said.
Tiwari claimed that after the rendition of Vande Mataram in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Sonia Gandhi had praised Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju during a subsequent courtesy meeting.
"During a courtesy call, Sonia Gandhi had praised Kiren Rijiju, noting that his lips were constantly moving in sync with 'Vande Mataram', calling it a commendable thing," he said.
Tiwari added that the BJP could verify the claim with Rijiju himself.
A day earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had also defended Gandhi, saying there was no attempt to stop the song.
"There was no attempt to stop it (the song). Because the Congress President (Mallikarjun Kharge) had been standing for a long time, Sonia Gandhi was saying, 'Bring a chair for him and place it there'," Ramesh said.
Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad also defended Gandhi and accused the BJP of unnecessarily targeting her.
Challenging BJP MPs to sing all six verses of the national song, Azad said, "I can't do that. I am being very honest. I can't do that. But does that make me less nationalist? If you can't sing Vande Mataram, you are anti-national... Where are we going (as a nation)?"
DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan also criticised the BJP over the controversy.
"How can we say Sonia Gandhi asked to stop the national song? She might have signalled for something else... BJP is known for finding fault with anything. They will be silent over whatever mistakes they do," he said.
However, CPI-M General Secretary M A Baby said there was "some confusion" over the rendition of the full version of the national song and asked the Congress to clarify its position.
Baby pointed out that there are currently three Congress chief ministers in the country and referred to differences in the way Vande Mataram was rendered during Independence Day events in Congress-ruled states.
"During the flag hoisting function attended by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in Kerala, my information is that only the National Anthem was played. Vande Mataram was not played at all. In the case of three other Congress Chief Minister-led governments, Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the full-length song Vande Mataram was played. So, I hope Congress leadership would explain as to what is the position of Congress with regard to the reciting of Vande Mataram," Baby told reporters.