'Vande Mataram' row: Attacking leaders like Nehru cannot divert attention from real issues, Kharge reminds BJP
NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that attacking tall leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru cannot divert attention from the real issues. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the 150th anniversary of the national song, Kharge added that the purpose of the House must be to focus on the burning issues facing the nation, because the true tribute to Bharat Mata will be paid only when the Parliament debates the concerns of the people and their solutions. Kharge countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charges that Nehru removed four stanzas from 'Vande Mataram' to appease the Muslim League and its leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah by reminding the BJP that it was their founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee who had formed a government in alliance with the Muslim League in Bengal and not Nehru. He noted that the decision to adopt only the first two stanzas of the national song was taken in the Congress Working Committee meeting held in 1937. He said, those present in the meeting that approved only the first two stanzas as the national song, included besides Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Abul Kalam Azad, Acharya Kripalani, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Dr Rajendra Prasad, GB Pant and others. Why target Pandit Nehru selectively? he asked, pointing out, it was a collective decision of all these leaders. On real issues faced by the people of the country, he specially referred to the falling value of rupee against the US dollar and reminded PM Modi what he had said on the same issue as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2012. He quoted Modi as having alleged that it was due to the corruption that the value of rupee had fallen. Is it because of the same reasons that the value of rupee has fallen today, as you had attributed to its fall then? he asked. It is like a Himalayan fall, the way the rupee's value has fallen, he remarked. Kharge also referred to the foreign policy disaster during the NDA regime, pointing out how the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, which were traditional allies, had grown too distant from India. He said, Nepal was coming closer to China and Bangladesh, for the first time since 1971, was moving closer to Pakistan. He said China was expanding its influence in South Asia at the cost of Indias interests and influence. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Modis claims of possessing a 56-inch chest, he asked, what is the point of having such a broad chest when you cannot defend the country's interest and cannot stand up to Chinese bullying? He referred to aggressive expansionist claims of China over Arunachal Pradesh, pointing out how a woman from the state had been detained for 18 hours at a Chinese airport and was told that her Indian passport was illegal and she should apply for a Chinese passport. Kharge concluded his speech by urging the government to stop spreading falsehoods and slinging mud at national heroes to cover up its own failures. He said that whenever BJP leaders insult those who sacrificed everything for Indias freedom, it only becomes clearer that they and their ideological forefathers had no role in the countrys independence. He advised the government not to make a mockery of itself by questioning the wisdom of the heroes of the freedom struggle.
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