'You were working for Britishers': Kharge hits out at BJP roots; Vande Mataram debate rages in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: As the Rajya Sabha met on Tuesday for a special discussion marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, the session quickly turned combative. Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge used the occasion to criticise BJP’s ideological predecessors, accusing them of “working for the Britishers,” while Congress leaders were fighting for independence.

Kharge said the Congress had played a central role in turning Vande Mataram into a rallying call against British rule. “Your (BJP) history is that you were always against the freedom struggle and patriotic songs. When Mahatma Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement in 1921, lakhs of freedom fighters from the Congress went to jail chanting 'Vande Mataram'. What were you doing? You were working for the Britishers,” he said.




He also alleged that PM Modi “leaves no chance to insult Jawaharlal Nehru,” adding, “Home Minister Amit Shah follows the same," as quoted by ANI.

Earlier in the House, Shah rejected Opposition claims that the discussion was politically timed ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. He said critics needed to “think afresh” about the legacy and significance of the national song.

“Some people believe that because there are elections in Bengal, this discussion is being held. They want to link the glorification of Vande Mataram with the West Bengal elections. I think they need to reconsider their understanding,” he said. Describing the song as an “immortal creation that awakens devotion and duty toward Mother India,” he urged members to view the debate beyond electoral politics.

Vande Mataram, first composed independently and later included in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s 1882 novel Anandamath, completed 150 years on November 7, 2025.
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