Guwahati, 29 October (HS): The Assam government has initiated a probe after a video surfaced showing a Congress leader purportedly singing Bangladesh’s national anthem Amar Sonar Bangla at a party gathering in Sribhumi district, triggering a political uproar.

According to reports, the incident took place on October 27 during a Congress Seva Dal meeting at Indira Bhavan, the district party office in Sribhumi town. The man seen singing the anthem was identified as 85-year-old Congress leader and poet Vidhu Bhushan Das, who rendered two lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s song — the same poet who also penned India’s national anthem.

In the wake of the viral video, Assam Fishery Minister Krishnendu Paul directed the local administration to verify the facts. “The minister has verbally asked us to probe the matter and submit a report,” a senior district official confirmed.

Minister Paul, however, termed the act as evidence of Congress’s “ideological connection with Bangladesh.” He remarked, “It was the Congress that paved the way for Pakistan and Bangladesh was born from it. Singing its national anthem now clearly shows their affection for that country.” He further instructed the district commissioner to initiate legal action if the allegations hold true.

The Congress, on its part, has denied any wrongdoing. Sribhumi District Congress president Tapas Purkayastha retorted, “Don’t politicise Tagore. Our senior poet Vidhu Bhushan Das sang just two lines of a Tagore composition. To criticise this is to insult Tagore himself.”

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi also hit back at the BJP, accusing it of stoking “manufactured controversy.” He said, “This is a Tagore song symbolising Bengali pride. The BJP has consistently disrespected the Bengali language and culture.”

The BJP, meanwhile, slammed the Congress for indulging in “vote bank politics” and “appeasing Bangladeshi infiltrators.”

The incident has once again ignited debates over cultural identity and linguistic sensitivities in Assam, where Bengali-speaking and indigenous communities share a complex social fabric.------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash