GOA — Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, dismissing his criticism over an alleged insult to the national song by citing his decades-long political experience.
Speaking at a public rally in Goa, the 84-year-old Congress chief took aim at the Home Minister’s credentials to lecture his party on patriotism following allegations regarding Sonia Gandhi during an Independence Day event:
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Dismissing Seniority: “When I first became an MLA, Amit Shah was a child, and today he’s teaching us patriotism,” Kharge stated, pointing out the vast gap in political experience between himself and the 61-year-old Home Minister.
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Freedom Struggle Question: Kharge challenged the ideological background of the ruling party, openly asking what role the BJP or the RSS played in India’s independence movement compared to the Congress.
Clarifying the Vande Mataram Dispute
The political spat erupted after Amit Shah accused Sonia Gandhi of asking for Vande Mataram to be cut short during the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters.
The Congress party firmly rejected the accusation, providing context for the event:
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Contextual Misinterpretation: Party leaders explained that Sonia Gandhi was simply asking for a chair for Kharge, not ordering the music to stop.
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Historical Precedent: The party noted that the song was sung completely, adding that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had originally suggested performing the first two stanzas for standard public occasions—a practice adopted by Congress in 1937.
The row coincides with the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, shortly after Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition was played in full at the Red Fort and granted legal protection equal to the National Anthem.
Response to Uttarakhand ‘Purification’ Havan
Kharge also addressed a recent incident in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where a right-wing group called ‘Shri Ram Sena’ conducted a shuddhikaran (purification) ritual at a rally venue two days after Kharge delivered a speech there.
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Condemning Caste-Based Insults: Highlighting his Dalit background, Kharge hit back: “Purify yourselves, after all, you are the biggest sinners; you are the ones who need purification first.”
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Government Stance: In the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister JP Nadda called the Haldwani event unfortunate, clarifying that BJP members were not involved and promising an inquiry into the matter.
Concluding his address, Kharge pledged to continue traveling across the country to counter the ruling party’s narratives on religion and patriotism ahead of upcoming electoral contests.
