Lucknow: A sharp political exchange unfolded in the Lok Sabha during a special discussion marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, with Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav launching a pointed attack on the BJP-led central government. Speaking during the session, Yadav accused the ruling party of trying to claim ownership over every national symbol and sentiment.
Invoking the example of IndiGo Airlines, Yadav said that services once promised to be affordable and accessible to the common man were now either grounded or deliberately not being operated. His remarks were aimed at highlighting what he called the government’s widening gap between promises and delivery.
Yadav reminded the House that Vande Mataram played a powerful role during the freedom struggle, energising and uniting Indians in moments of courage and resistance. He noted that after Rabindranath Tagore sang the song, it spread rapidly as a rallying cry for independence. “Whenever this slogan rose, the British would crack down and imprison people,” he said.
Taking a direct swipe at the BJP, Yadav added:
“It is not enough to chant Vande Mataram — one must live by its spirit. The song united the nation, yet some people today use it to divide society. Those who never participated in the freedom struggle—how will they understand its true meaning?”
‘Some People Acted as Informers for the British’
Escalating his attack, Yadav said history recorded the presence of individuals who “spied and acted as informers for the British.” Without taking names, he suggested that such people could not claim genuine nationalism.
He remarked that these individuals were “rashtra-vivadi rather than rashtra-vadi”—those who chant Vande Mataram yet fail to honour its values.
Yadav also said that although artists from Bengal created iconic depictions of Bharat Mata—images now widely used by groups claiming cultural guardianship—some of these same groups propagate divisive narratives today.
The remarks sparked murmurs in the Treasury benches, signalling that the debate over Vande Mataram has once again become a flashpoint in the broader political contest between the Opposition and the ruling party.
