New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday accused the government of politicising ‘Vande Mataram’, claiming that efforts were being made from the Treasury Benches to use the debate for political gain, particularly in the upcoming West Bengal elections.

Speaking to IANS, Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “Yesterday, the topic of discussion was ‘Vande Mataram’. We have seen that after 2014, lies have been presented repeatedly. Whether it is Vande Mataram or Jana Gana Mana, national songs and sentiments connected to the public should be respected, not politicised. However, we have witnessed increasing politicisation around them since 2014.”

She further added, “Yesterday as well, members from the Treasury Benches attempted to use the discussion for political advantage, especially keeping the West Bengal elections in mind. Historical facts were presented in a distorted manner. It became clear that Vande Mataram was being used as a tool for political messaging. The Opposition also got an opportunity to hold a mirror to the ruling party, because no matter how many lies are circulated about freedom fighters, lies cannot become the truth.”

Commenting on procedural issues in Parliament, Chaturvedi said, “At the beginning of the session, it was stated that parliamentarians could not chant slogans such as Vande Mataram or Jai Hind. There could be no act more anti-national than this. Along with my party leadership, I immediately wrote to the Chairperson demanding the withdrawal of this notification. We were later assured that it would be revoked.”

To mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, Parliament allocated time for discussions on the national song in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, set aside 10 hours for the discussion, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiating the debate at noon.

The debate, titled “Discussion on the 150th Anniversary of National Song Vande Mataram,” is part of the government’s year-long commemoration of the iconic poem written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. “Many important and previously unknown aspects of Vande Mataram will be presented before the nation during the debate,” a senior government official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invoked the memories of the Emergency (1975) while commemorating the 150th year of Vande Mataram in Parliament, describing the patriotic hymn as a guiding force of India’s freedom struggle and a symbol of resilience against oppression.

As the Prime Minister arrived in the Lok Sabha, members of the ruling party broke into slogans of Vande Mataram, setting the tone for the historic occasion.

PM Modi emphasised that the celebration was not merely ceremonial but a moment of reflection on India’s democratic journey. “We all have this great fortune in this House… On this historic occasion, we are witnessing a moment that brings to light the heart of history,” PM Modi said, urging Parliamentarians to use the discussion as a source of education for future generations.

He reminded the House that many chapters of history had unfolded before them, from the sacrifices of freedom fighters to the trials faced during the Emergency.

The Prime Minister recalled that when Vande Mataram marked its 100th year, the country was shackled under the chains of the Emergency, which triggered a burst of slogans from the treasury benches: “Shame, shame, shame.”

PM Modi noted how the Constitution was strangled, and patriots were jailed.

He described that period as a “dark calamity” in India’s democratic history, contrasting it with the current celebration of 75 years of the Constitution and 150 years of Vande Mataram.

PM Modi also linked the commemoration to other milestones being observed this year — the 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Patel and Birsa Munda, and the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur.

–IANS

jk/dpb