Priyanka Gandhi dismisses Modi's claim over Vande Mataram, reads out Nehru's letter to Netaji

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday vehemently dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim regarding Jawaharlal Nehru's stance on 'Vande Mataram'. The Prime Minister had alleged in the Lok Sabha that Nehru, in a letter to Subhash Chandra Bose, indicated that the national song's origins might incite Muslims. Priyanka Gandhi accused PM Modi of selectively quoting from the historical document to score political points.

Citing the same 1937 letter from Nehru to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Priyanka Gandhi asserted that the Prime Minister failed to mention the complete context. She stated that the letter actually highlighted that the "so-called objection against the remaining stanzas of Vande Mataram was manufactured by the communalists," directly contradicting the Prime Minister's interpretation that suggested Nehru accepted Muhammad Ali Jinnah's sentiments on the matter.

Priyanka Gandhi also pointed out a historical inconsistency in the government's criticism, noting that only two stanzas of the song were adopted in the assembly where both B.R. Ambedkar and Sangh leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were present. She questioned, "Why didn't they object then?" She then challenged the government, which continuously questions the Nehru regime, to compile a list of Nehru's alleged "blunders" and set a time for an elaborate, formal debate on the matter in Parliament.