'Vande mataram not limited to Bengal': Shah counters Priyanka Gandhi
What's the story
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has defended the discussion on "Vande Mataram" in the Rajya Sabha, dismissing allegations of it being politically motivated ahead of West Bengal elections. Addressing members on Tuesday, he said, "Some people feel that this discussion is happening only because elections are being held in West Bengal." He stressed that dedication to and discussion about "Vande Mataram" was important earlier, is important now, and will be important in 2047.
National anthem
Shah emphasizes national significance of 'Vande Mataram'
"Some people feel that this discussion is happening only because elections are being held in West Bengal," Shah said, responding to Gandhi. "It is true that Vande Mataram's creator, Bankim Babu was born in Bengal, but Vande Mataram did not remain restricted to Bengal, or to India." He said, "Even today, when our soldiers make the supreme sacrifice on the border...there is one voice that rises, 'Vande Mataram.'"
Shah
'If Vande Mataram wasn't split for appeasement'
He further said Jawaharlal Nehru split Vande Mataram and restricted it to two stanzas on its 50th anniversary. "Appeasement began from there, and that appeasement led to Partition. Many like me believe that if Vande Mataram was not split due to a policy of appeasement, Partition would not have happened," he said. "When Vande Mataram completed 100 years, there was no question of glorification because those who said Vande Mataram were put into jails by Indira Gandhi."
Historical debate
Modi criticizes Nehru's stance on 'Vande Mataram'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also slammed the Congress over "Vande Mataram." He accused Nehru of betraying the song by yielding to Muhammad Ali Jinnah's opposition. PM Modi said Nehru had followed Jinnah's position in 1937, arguing the hymn could "irritate Muslims" and thus jeopardized its legacy. "Instead of condemning the slogans of....Muslim League and expressing loyalty toward Vande Mataram, he wrote to Netaji Subhas Bose, agreeing with Jinnah. He wrote that the context of Anandamath can irritate Muslims."
Political defense
Congress defends Nehru, criticizes government's motives
The Congress had earlier cited historian Sugata Bose's comments about Rabindranath Tagore advising that only the first part of "Vande Mataram" be sung at national meetings in 1937. "And that was because Tagore felt that we needed unity and good sense in our nationalist movement and he did not want a rivalry between different religious communities," Bose said. Sharing a video of Bose, Jairam Ramesh said this conversation further exposes the PM.
Twitter Post
Watch the video here
Sugata Bose, one of India's finest historians, is a Professor at Harvard University and also Director of the Netaji Research Bureau in Kolkata. He was a Lok Sabha MP during 2014-2019.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 9, 2025
He is the grandson of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's brother Sarat Chandra Bose and is the author… pic.twitter.com/j0J0q9x9pb
Gandhi
What did Gandhi say
Addressing the House on Monday, Gandhi said, "This song has made a place in our hearts for over 150 years. Our country has been free for 75 years. What is the need for this debate now? You refused a debate on electoral reforms if we did not debate this. This is our national song....What is the debate?" "Your objective is to keep us in the past because this government does not want to look at the present and the future."