BJP organises full ‘Vande Mataram’ recitation at SPPU event

Union minister of state for civil aviation and cooperation Murlidhar Mohol targeted the Congress and Rahul Gandhi during the event

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised an event titled ‘Youth Ki Awaaz’ at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Saturday, coinciding with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, an interaction with women students in the city.

“The youth will sing the complete Vande Mataram. We sing it by exercising the rights given to us by the Constitution. (HT)

The programme was organised by the Vande Mataram Kruti Samiti, Pune, near the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on the university campus. Thousands of participants joined the event, which featured patriotic songs, slogans, and a collective rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’.

Union minister of state for civil aviation and cooperation Murlidhar Mohol targeted the Congress and Rahul Gandhi during the event.

The Congress had earlier decided to abide by its 1937 resolution on Vande Mataram and sing only two stanzas of the National Song, instead of the full rendition, at all party events.

“The youth will sing the complete Vande Mataram. We sing it by exercising the rights given to us by the Constitution. However, some people in the Congress opposed singing the complete song. They should apologise to the country, the revolutionaries and the great personalities who fought for independence. They should also apologise to the Constitution,” Mohol said.

The event also recalled the history of ‘Vande Mataram’, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in his novel ‘Anandamath’. Rabindranath Tagore sang the song at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress, following which it became associated with the freedom movement.