New Delhi, 20 August (H.S.): Union Home Minister Amit Shah has strongly criticised the Congress Working Committee’s decision to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram instead of the complete song at party events. Describing the move as anti-national, Shah accused the Congress of once again returning to the path of appeasement and vote-bank politics.

Shah said that in 1937, the Congress had decided to divide Vande Mataram into two parts as part of what he described as a policy of appeasement. According to him, such politics strengthened the two-nation theory and eventually contributed to the circumstances that led to the Partition of the country.

He said that on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, the Narendra Modi government had sought to rectify this historical mistake by giving legal recognition to the singing of the complete song. Shah alleged that under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress was once again following the same path of appeasement in pursuit of vote-bank politics.

The Home Minister described the Congress decision as an open defiance of legislation enacted by Parliament. He appealed to the people of the country to unite and raise their voices against what he termed the Congress’s politics of appeasement.

Shah said the country had already suffered the consequences of what he described as the earlier mistake concerning Vande Mataram and asserted that such a situation should not be repeated.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar