A video arising from the flag hoisting ceremony organized at 'Indira Bhawan', the headquarters of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in New Delhi, on the auspicious occasion of the country's 80th Independence Day, has now turned into the country's biggest political and legal controversy. Regarding the alleged gestures and conversation of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) President Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the singing of India's national anthem 'Vande Mataram' during the ceremony, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seriously accused the top leadership of the Congress of deliberately disrespecting the national anthem and preventing its full singing. The controversy erupted when a video of the event went viral on social media, in which, after the initial lines of the national anthem were sung, Sonia Gandhi was seen making some gestures and talking to party leaders standing nearby while the full version was being sung. BJP leaders claimed that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi objected to the full singing of the national anthem and tried to stop it midway. At the same time, Congress has completely rejected all these allegations and termed it as malicious politics of BJP and false propaganda created by tampering with the video. Police complaints against Sonia Gandhi in Karnataka: Demand for FIR under these sections As soon as this controversy gained momentum, the Bharatiya Janata Party did not limit it to mere rhetoric and took it forward legally. Official police complaints have been filed against Sonia Gandhi by BJP leaders and the Yuva Morcha in two major cities of Karnataka—Bengaluru and Mangaluru: Complaint at Malleshwaram police station in Bengaluru: A written complaint was lodged at the Malleshwaram police station under the leadership of BJP Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Karnataka state president and MLA Dheeraj Muniraju. The complaint alleged that Sonia Gandhi tried to disrupt the singing of the national anthem 'Vande Mataram', which has hurt the national sentiments of crores of countrymen. Yuva Morcha staged a strong protest outside the BJP state headquarters and demanded an apology from the Gandhi family to the people of the country. Complaint at Urwa police station in Mangaluru: In Mangaluru, former BJP spokesperson Vikas Puttur and party leader Rajagopal lodged a complaint at Urwa police station. The complaint said that under the Constitution and law of India, the national song 'Vande Mataram' enjoys the same highest respect and honor as the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana', and disrespecting it on a public platform is a punishable offence. Sections sought to be implemented: In the complaints, a demand has been made to register a criminal FIR under Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act and Section 195 and Section 352 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS). According to the law, there is a provision of imprisonment of up to 3 years or fine for deliberately stopping or obstructing the singing of the national anthem. Police stand: Police officials have clarified that the complaints have been accepted, but before filing any kind of official FIR, legal advice is being taken from legal experts and senior prosecution officers. BJP's sharp attack: 'Uncomfortable with appeasement politics and national anthem' Top BJP leaders have launched an all-out attack on Congress on this issue: B. l. Santosh's statement: BJP's National Organization General Secretary B. l. While sharing the video clip on social media, Santosh wrote that mother, son and the national president all three appear uncomfortable with the singing of the entire 'Vande Mataram'. He sarcastically said that some mentalities remained the same even after 1947 as they were before 1947. Anurag Thakur's attack: Former Union Minister and MP Anurag Thakur said that Congress has once again proved that its leaders feel uncomfortable in front of the national song 'Vande Mataram'. He said that this is not the protocol of any party, but a matter of self-respect of the entire country and respect for the sacrifice of freedom fighters. Statement of Home Minister Amit Shah: Union Home Minister Amit Shah also mentioned this incident during a rally in Rajasthan and alleged that Congress, in the greed for vote bank, has tried to forget the importance of 'Vande Mataram', with whose slogan countless brave revolutionaries of the country were hanged laughingly. Congress's counterattack: 'Sonia Gandhi was asking for a chair for Kharge ji, BJP is spreading lies' In response to the aggressive attacks of BJP, the Congress party has issued an official statement calling all the allegations baseless, ridiculous and distorted. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh clarified the real situation of the entire incident: The whole matter was about ordering a chair: Jairam Ramesh clarified that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (age 84 years) was standing on the stage for a long time. Considering his age and health, Sonia Gandhi was requesting the assistants present on the stage to bring a chair from behind for him to sit. This had nothing to do with stopping the singing of the national anthem. The entire national anthem was sung: Congress said that the entire version of the national anthem was sung respectfully in the Independence Day program and no leader interrupted it. Historical context of 1937 (Calcutta session): Jairam Ramesh, citing history, said that in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in Calcutta on 28 October 1937, on the advice of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, this historic decision was taken that the first two stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' would be sung in the Congress sessions. He said that from then till today, Congress Seva Dal and party workers have been singing these lines with full pride in every national festival and convention. Opinion of political and legal analysts: Political analysts believe that this controversy over the national anthem on the occasion of Independence Day can become a big emotional and nationalist issue between BJP and Congress in the coming Parliament session and upcoming assembly elections. The BJP is adopting an aggressive stance linking it to the debate of nationalism and historical appeasement, while the Congress is calling it a well-planned conspiracy by the BJP to divert attention from real public issues. According to legal experts, it is a complex process in law to prove that a conversation regarding standing or seating arrangements at a public event is a deliberate insult to the national anthem under mens rea. However, after the police takes legal advice, it will be interesting to see whether a formal FIR is filed in this matter or this dispute remains limited to just a big political confrontation.
