The Vande Mataram controversy has now snowballed into a bigger political row, with Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy stepping up his attack on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and questioning her Indian identity.
Speaking to reporters in Hassan on Monday, Kumaraswamy asked, “Is Sonia Gandhi from our nation? She migrated to India after marriage. Naturally, Italian blood flows in her veins,” Deccan Herald reported.
“They are now giving excuses that the gestures were made to arrange chairs. It is not so easy to escape by lying now. People know everything,” he said, according to the publication.
Congress reacts
The remarks triggered a sharp response from the Congress, with Karnataka Minister Rizwan Arshad calling Kumaraswamy a “frustrated man” and defending Sonia Gandhi.
“Kumaraswamy is a frustrated man. If he talks about Sonia Gandhi ji in such a manner, then he should know that she is more Indian than many Indians. Her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, sacrificed his life for this nation. She's fighting for a united India, a just India,” Arshad said, according to NDTV.
Also Read: Vande Mataram row: Amit Shah attacks Sonia Gandhi, Congress hits back, cases filed
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Vande Mataram row: Amit Shah attacks Sonia Gandhi, Congress hits back, cases filed
{{/usCountry}}Kumaraswamy, however, doubled down on his remarks on Tuesday, asking what Sonia Gandhi herself had sacrificed. “Her husband has sacrificed, yes, but what has she sacrificed? She disrespected it (Vande Mataram). She is obviously not Indian, she is Italian. She married an Indian citizen. She is from Italy. That is why she is opposing Indian sentiments,” he said.
The controversy comes days after Parliament cleared amendments to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, granting “Vande Mataram” the status at par with the national anthem.
What is the Vande Mataram controversy?
The row erupted after the BJP accused Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at a Congress Independence Day event on August 15.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh shared footage from the event on X and alleged that Sonia Gandhi, along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, appeared upset during the recital.
The Congress rejected the allegation, saying there was no attempt to stop the full version of the national song. It said Sonia Gandhi was merely trying to get a chair arranged for Kharge, who had been standing for some time.
The controversy has since widened, with BJP leaders questioning the Congress' position on Vande Mataram and accusing the party of undermining its own role in India's freedom movement.
Addressing a public meeting in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district recently, Amit Shah said, “We all saw it on television,” adding that Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
“If there is any shame left, you should fold your hands and apologise to Bankim Babu’s immortal spirit and the people,” he said.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad also criticised the Congress over the incident, saying the party should not claim a “monopoly” over the freedom movement if it was unwilling to respect Vande Mataram.
(With inputs from agencies)