Kolkata, 11 February (H.S.) :

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition CPI-M in West Bengal on Wednesday criticised the Union government’s newly issued comprehensive guidelines on the rendition of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’.

Under the fresh directives, the complete official version of ‘Vande Mataram’—comprising six stanzas and lasting approximately three minutes and ten seconds—is to be performed or played during major state functions. Both parties have objected specifically to this provision, terming it an attempt at divisive politics.

TMC West Bengal vice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar said the directive was unacceptable coming from a government led by a political party whose leaders, he alleged, did not participate in the freedom movement. He claimed that in 1937, following the advice of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had accepted only certain portions of the song as universally acceptable, and later only that portion was accorded the status of the national song. He alleged that the present government was attempting to distort history.

Majumdar further accused the BJP of trying to divide society along religious lines by exploiting verses of ‘Vande Mataram’, calling it a threat to constitutional values and national unity.

Echoing similar views, CPI-M central committee member Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the BJP was attempting to create a new narrative around the song to divert attention from pressing national issues. He said that Rabindranath Tagore had himself deliberated on the relevance and sentiment of the song, and questioned the Centre’s interpretation of that history.

Chakraborty further alleged that at a time when the country was facing multiple international challenges, the Union government was imposing unilateral decisions without regard to the spirit of the Constitution.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh