Special discussion in Parliament on 150 years of Vande Mataram, but the real ‘heat’ of Bengal elections… From PM Modi to Priyanka Gandhi face to face

in Parliament on Monday 150 years of Vande Mataram There was a special discussion on, but the entire session was colored by the Bengal Assembly elections to be held next year. As soon as Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the Lok Sabha, NDA MPs raised slogans. Bihar’s victory is ours, now it’s Bengal’s turn! That is, the discussion was about Vande Mataram on the ground, but the political arrows were pointing straight towards Bengal.

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In this debate that lasted for more than 10 hours, the ruling party brought forward the partition of Bengal, the Swadeshi movement and the legacy of Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, while the opposition called it an “election trick”. From Priyanka Gandhi to TMC and Congress, everyone alleged that BJP is using this debate to create an atmosphere for the upcoming Bengal elections.

PM Modi said – ‘When Bengal was divided in 1905, Vande Mataram stood like a rock.’ Starting the discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Vande Mataram as the soul of India’s freedom struggle. He said that ‘When Bengal was divided in 1905, Vande Mataram stood like a rock… It also became the slogan of the Swadeshi movement.’ He said that during that period, Vande Mataram was written on everything from match boxes to big ships across the country, which was a symbol of challenging foreign companies.

PM Modi’s sharp attack on Congress – ‘Vande Mataram was divided into pieces in 1937’

PM Modi accused Congress of compromising the national anthem. He said that Congress called a review session of Vande Mataram in Kolkata in 1937 and divided ‘Vande Mataram’ into pieces… Their appeasement politics itself prepared the partition of 1947.” He said that Vande Mataram is not just a slogan of political freedom, but a mantra of “spiritual dedication to the motherland”. Controversy over ‘Bankim Da’ – TMC interrupted, PM said ‘Bankim Babu… I respect your sentiments.

When PM Modi was mentioning Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, TMC MP Sudipta Roy objected that he should be called ‘Bankim Babu’ and not ‘Bankim Da’. On this, PM Modi immediately said, ‘I will call you Bankim Babu. I respect your sentiment… can I call you Dada, or is that also a problem?”

There was light laughter in the house on this.

Priyanka Gandhi’s counterattack – ‘AAP for elections, we for the country…Government is diverting attention from the issues under the guise of Vande Mataram. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi accused the BJP that this debate was conducted only keeping the Bengal elections in mind. He said that there are two reasons for this debate, elections are coming in Bengal and the Prime Minister wants to establish his role.

Priyanka Gandhi further said that you (BJP) are for the elections, we are for the country… No matter how many elections we lose, we will keep fighting your ideology. TMC’s attack on BJP- ‘They hate Bengalis…the level of debate was very low. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee launched a scathing attack on PM Modi. He said the debate was on Vande Mataram but the Prime Minister attacked Nehru and Indira Gandhi… it was below par.”

He alleged that BJP hates Bengalis… but under compulsion they have to tolerate Netaji, Tagore and the culture of Bengal. Mamta Banerjee asked- ‘If you don’t like Netaji, Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, then who do you like? While addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of not respecting the great leaders of Bengal. He said that I heard that some people of BJP say that they do not like Netaji… then who do they like?

Pointing towards Bengal elections – ‘Ganga goes from Bihar to Bengal… victory will also reach there’

PM Modi had said this after the big victory in Bihar elections. Like Ganga, Bihar’s victory is also flowing towards Bengal… now it is Bengal’s turn. Mamata Banerjee has been in power in Bengal since 2011, while BJP had made a strong ground for itself by winning 77 seats in the 2021 elections.