"Congress not comfortable with praise of Hindu deities": BJP's CR Kesavan slams Tharoor over 'Vande Mataram' remarks

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson CR Kesavan on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor over his remarks on Vande Mataram, accusing the Congress party of opposing its "full original form" due to "vote bank politics" and discomfort with references to Hindu deities. Speaking to ANI on the issue, Kesavan said the Congress has consistently taken a position against the national song being recited in its complete original form.

He said, "The Congress party has always favoured a divisive communal agenda of religious appeasement and polarisation. Why are Congress leaders and the Congress party opposing Vande Mataram in its full original form being recited?." Referring to the structure of the composition, he added that the original version contains multiple stanzas that include references to Hindu deities. He said, "In the original Vande Mataram, which has six stanzas, there are stanzas which praise Hindu deities and glorify Goddesses."

Further intensifying his criticism, Kesavan alleged that the Congress's discomfort stems from electoral considerations. He stated, "The Congress party is not comfortable with the praise of Hindu deities in the Vande Mataram because it affects their vote bank politics..." On Tuesday, amid ongoing political debate over the rendition of "Vande Mataram" in Keralam Assembly proceedings, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor backed the state government's position and questioned the Centre's approach.

"In Keralam, the government feels that since this is only a guideline from the central government, they're not going to follow it because it's not that convenient, and not everyone is familiar," he said. "In fact, the majority of people are not familiar with all five verses, and people are standing awkwardly. It's a very long thing. It's five times the length of the national anthem," Tharoor added.

He said the practice of using only the opening portion was historically consistent. "The original scenario, which we've been following since the days of our freedom struggle, is to sing the first verses of Vande Mataram. We all respect the national song," he said. Criticising the push for full rendition, he said, "But this additional imposition of the full thing is awkward at various levels. We all understand the BJP has a political agenda behind this choice."

He further challenged political opponents, saying, "But I challenge any BJP leader to come and sing all five verses before us. This is a certain amount of political hypocrisy also involved. So I respect this Chief Minister's decision." The controversy erupted after the Keralam Legislative Assembly, for the first time, began proceedings with "Vande Mataram," with only the opening portion played in instrumental form by the police band. The move drew criticism from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, while Chief Minister VD Satheesan maintained that a full rendition is not mandatory. (ANI)

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