Priyanka Gandhi's Dig At Centre: "Understand Real Vande Mataram Chronology"

The debate on the national song "Vande Mataram" on its 150th anniversary in parliament saw a spirited defence of the Congress from its senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who accused the government of highlighting the matter in view of the coming assembly election in Bengal and evading the real issues. She also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "selectively" quoting Jawaharlal Nehru, and suggested that the BJP list out the insults for Nehru, set aside a time to debate it, and close the chapter. "Let us use the precious time of this Parliament for the job people have elected us for," she said. The Wayanad MP also questioned why parliament should have a debate on Vande Mataram. There is no scope for a debate on the issue, since the song is "alive in every part of the country," she asserted. The government, she said, "wanted debate on Vande Mataram because the Bengal polls are coming soon... The government wants us to keep delving in past because it does not want to look at present and future".