Cong must apologise for Vande Mataram insult: Shah

Jaipur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged on Sunday that the Congress Party had insulted the national song Vande Mataram and demanded an apology. At a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Shah contended that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had asked for the song to be stopped midway during the Independence Day program at the party's headquarters.

Shah reminded that Vande Mataram was sung at the Red Fort and other flag-hoisting locations on Independence Day, noting that many had faced bullets, lathis, and imprisonment for singing the revolutionary slogan during the freedom struggle. He urged the party to apologize to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the songwriter, for their alleged disrespect.

Shah further accused the Congress of abandoning Vande Mataram due to vote-bank politics. The BJP criticized the Congress, alleging that top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge showed disrespect towards the national song during the party's Independence Day event.