The government is diverting attention from issues in the name of debate on Vande Mataram: Kharge

The Congress has accused the government of trying to divert people's attention from the major challenges facing the country by discussing the sacred creation of Vande Mataram in Parliament and attempting to gain votes through this debate in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, participating in a special debate on Tuesday on the occasion of the completion of 150 years of the country's national song Vande Mataram, also rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegations that the Congress, led by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had removed some stanzas of Vande Mataram.
He said that the Congress had made Vande Mataram a freedom song and started singing it in Parliament. He said that using Vande Mataram, which unites the country, in this way is inappropriate and unnecessary.
Mr. Kharge said that after 150 years, controversy is being created over Vande Mataram, and former leaders like Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Mahatma Gandhi are being defamed, and Prime Minister Modi should apologize to the people for this.
He said that on the one hand, the country is facing many challenges, on the other hand, Prime Minister Modi is always in election mode and has now brought up the topic of debate on Vande Mataram to divert people's attention. Mr. Kharge alleged that the government has brought up this issue to gain votes in the West Bengal assembly elections and the government should focus on solving problems.
The opposition leader said that Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah do not miss any opportunity to insult Nehru and Congress leaders. He said that the decision to remove some stanzas of Vande Mataram was taken collectively in the Congress Executive Committee meeting, which included all major leaders, so why only Nehru is being defamed.
Mr. Kharge, targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party, said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Hindu Mahasabha had never participated in the freedom movements, but rather supported the British. He said that when the Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League formed a government together in Bengal, where was the patriotism of the BJP and RSS then.
He alleged that the BJP remembered Vande Mataram 15 decades later, while the Congress, while in power, had issued the first commemorative postage stamp and postcard on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of Vande Mataram.
Mr. Kharge, raising the issue of the continuous decline in the value of the rupee against the dollar and reaching the level of 90, said that at that time, the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had said that the value of the rupee was decreasing due to government corruption. He asked if it should now be accepted that the value of the rupee is decreasing in the Modi government for the same reason.
He questioned the foreign policy, saying that due to the government's policies, for the first time since 1971, Bangladesh is moving closer to Pakistan and coming under the influence of neighboring country China.
During the ruckus by government members, Kharge also raised the issue of US President Trump's mediation between India and Pakistan during Operation Sundor and terrorist attacks.