Vande Mataram row: Shah thinks he is greater than Patel, Gandhi, says Cong

Pawan Khera hit back at Amit Shah's criticism of Congress's 'two-stanza' Vande Mataram stance, saying the BJP leader considers himself greater than Patel and Gandhi and is speaking against the Constituent Assembly approved by them.

Khera accuses Shah of placing himself above founding fathers

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday strongly hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent criticism regarding the party's "two-stanza" stance on Vande Mataram, saying that the BJP leader considers himself greater than the likes of "Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and C Rajagopalachari."

Speaking to ANI, Khera accused Shah of speaking against the view adopted by the Constituent Assembly and placing himself above Dr BR Ambedkar. He stated that the status of Vande Mataram was supported and approved in the Constituent Assembly, yet the Union Home Minister places himself above everyone else. "Does this mean Amit Shah now considers himself greater than Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and C Rajagopalachari? He is speaking against the Constituent Assembly; he has placed himself even above Dr. Ambedkar. The Constituent Assembly comprised people representing every ideology of the nation. The status of Vande Mataram was also approved and supported there. Yet, he has begun considering himself greater than all of them," said Khera.

Khera questions Shah on Jantar Mantar protests

Further, questioning the Home Minister on police action against protesters on July 20 at Jantar Mantar and taking a swipe at his absence in Parliament, the Congress leader added, "He cannot say who authorised the use of pellet guns. Either he is so incompetent that he does not know who gave the order to fire, or he knows because he gave the order himself. A man who fled from Parliament with his tail between his legs for twenty days is now claiming to be greater than Sardar Patel."

Congress blames RSS for Pakistan's creation

Khera also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Hindu Mahasabha of contributing to the creation of Pakistan, while stressing that the Congress speaks of the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution. "The Hindu Mahasabha and the Sangh--they all ran governments together. They cooperated in the creation of Pakistan. So, let them deal with their whims and their ties with the Muslim League; what does that have to do with us? We speak of the Constitution; we speak of the Constituent Assembly. We are referring to that 1937 resolution, the architects of which included Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Mahatma Gandhi," said Khera.

Congress reiterates 1937 stance on Vande Mataram

On Wednesday, the Congress Working Committee also decided that only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events, citing the party's 1937 resolution. The decision followed days of controversy after the BJP accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi of conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15, and demanded a public apology.

Shah slams Congress's 'appeasement politics'

After the CWC meeting, Congress MP KC Venugopal said the party's stand on the recitation of Vande Mataram was clear and that it would follow the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937. Criticising Congress' stance, Amit Shah on Thursday launched a sharp attack, accusing the opposition party of reviving its "extreme policy of appeasement".

Shah told ANI that the decision was not merely symbolic but a repetition of a historical error that had contributed to the partition of India. "Yesterday, the Congress Party Working Committee took a surprising and anti-national decision. Following their party's resolution of 1937, they have decided to sing only two stanzas of the great song, Vande Mataram. I want to remind the entire country that in 1937, for Muslim appeasement, the Congress party laid the foundation for the partition of the country by dividing Vande Mataram into two. From there, the two-nation theory gained strength and eventually, the country was partitioned, and Pakistan was born. Today, the Narendra Modi government has corrected that historical mistake in the 150th year of Vande Mataram's composition and tried to strengthen national integration by singing the entire song. The decision to sing it in full in all government functions has been given legal form as well. Yesterday, Congress decided to ignore it. This decision by Congress only confirms their extreme policy of appeasement. For vote-bank appeasement, they have not only insulted the immortal work of the late Bankim Babu, but also millions of martyrs who went to the gallows for the country's independence while chanting Vande Mataram, and spent many years in jail," he said. (ANI)

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