Shimla, 23 August (H.S.): Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and former Union Minister Shanta Kumar has criticised the Congress over the removal of two verses from the original version of Vande Mataram, questioning whether India should continue to be guided by objections raised by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League nearly eight decades after Independence.

In a statement on Sunday, Shanta Kumar said the complete version of Vande Mataram was sung until 1937. He claimed that Jinnah and the Muslim League had objected to two verses that referred to Hindu goddesses Lakshmi and Durga. Following the objections, he said, the Congress passed a resolution deciding to exclude those two verses.

Shanta Kumar questioned what objection the Congress had to references honouring Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Durga. He said that, nearly 80 years after Independence, the country needed to consider whether India should continue to move forward on the basis of objections raised by the Muslim League at that time.

The former Union Minister alleged that “the biggest misfortune of today’s India is that the Congress itself has become the Muslim League.” He said an aware and conscious section of society would never accept what he described as an injustice done to Vande Mataram.

Shanta Kumar said Vande Mataram was deeply associated with India’s freedom struggle and national consciousness. He called for a serious national discussion on the historical form and legacy of the song.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar