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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP during the Lok Sabha's special discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, accusing the ruling party of trying to "own everything and make their own for political gain".
Yadav said the song's legacy was far greater than the political narratives being pushed today, asserting that Vande Mataram belonged to the freedom struggle and to the people of India, not to any political party. "The people in the ruling party today want to claim everything as their own," he said. Yadav began by remembering Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "who gave the nation a song that awakened millions", but accused the ruling side of "owning everything". Recalling the song's role in India's freedom movement, Yadav narrated how Vande Mataram became a rallying cry against British rule, energising lakhs of people. He cited Rabindranath Tagore's rendition of the song during the Kolkata Congress session, which helped it reach ordinary people and cement its place in the independence movement. He reminded the House that the British government had banned the song between 1905 and 1908, even jailing schoolchildren in Bengal for singing it in classrooms. "But the revolutionaries did not accept the ban; they kept the song alive in their hearts and minds and continued to carry the movement forward among the people," he added. Targeting the BJP directly, Yadav also pointed to past debates, including during the formation of the coalition, where the debate was happening on whether the BJP would adopt a socialist and secular path or not. "Tell me today, how many socialist and secular people remain in the BJP?" he asked. He argued that Vande Mataram was not merely meant to be sung, but to be lived. "Look at the last few decades and see how much they (BJP) have actually lived by it," he said. "Today, the forces of division want to break this nation. These same people betrayed the nation earlier, and they are betraying it even now," he added. Yadav also alleged that some individuals who now speak loudly about nationalism had, during the freedom struggle, acted as informants for the British. "Those who didn't participate in the freedom movement, what would they know about celebrating Vande Mataram?" Yadav added. "The truth is, in those days, those who truly said Vande Mataram from the heart were the patriots. Some people, on the other hand, acted as spies and informants for the British. They were not nationalists; they were anti-nationalist forces," he further said. SP leader further added that they were carrying forward the old colonial strategy of "divide and rule". "The British policy was divide and rule, and even today, some people are following the same path, walking the path of division," he said. He challenged the BJP's historical claims by saying, "Their history will show why they never sang this song before independence, and why they didn't sing it even after independence." Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA government has been allotted three hours for its participation in the Lok Sabha debate, while a total of 10 hours has been earmarked for the entire discussion, as the debate will also take place in the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, on Tuesday, December 9. The 6th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 269th Session of the Rajya Sabha commenced on Monday, December 1, marking the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament. The session will conclude on December 19. (ANI)
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