Amit Shah accuses Congress of insulting Vande Mataram, demands apology from Sonia Gandhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused the Congress of insulting the national song Vande Mataram and demanded that the party apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who wrote the songAddressing a public meeting in Chittorgarh Rajasthan Shah alleged that during the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters party leader Sonia Gandhi asked Vande Mataram to be stopped midway through the songReferring to the Independence Day celebrations held on Saturday Shah said that after 80 years of Independence Vande Mataram was sung at the Red Fort and at all other places where flag hoisting was heldThousands of people faced bullets and lathis and were jailed for singing Vande Mataram Shah stated referring to the use of the revolutionary slogan during the freedom struggleHe alleged that during the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters Gandhi had asked the party president to stop the song midwayWe all saw it on television Shah said adding that Gandhi should apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyays immortal soulAmit Shah demands apology from Congress over Vande Mataram rowIf there is any shame left you should fold your hands and apologise to Bankim Babus immortal spirit and the people he saidThe Union Home Minister alleged that the Congress had forgotten Vande Mataram due to votebank politics news agency PTI reportedThe BJP hit out at the Congress alleging that its top leaders Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge showed utter disrespect towards Vande Mataram when it was being sung at the partys Independence Day event and demanded an apology from themSeveral leaders of the ruling BJP also accused Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at the event a charge that the Congress denied asserting that there was no attempt to stop the singing of the full version and that she was only asking for a chair for party chief Kharge as he was standing for a whileAddressing the gathering at Atal Gaurav Smriti Samaroh held on the death anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Shah highlighted the contributions of the former prime ministerVajpayee took several major decisions including making India a nuclear power despite international pressure after the Pokhran tests Shah saidModi government continues to prioritise tribal welfare says ShahHe further stated that Vajpayees government connected villages with roads built national highways and launched several initiatives during its tenure He also credited Vajpayee with establishing a separate ministry for tribal developmentThe Home Minister said the progress made in tribal welfare was reflected in the election of Droupadi Murmu as President of India who came from a tribal family and rose to the top postHe said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has continued to give priority to tribal welfareEarlier Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said the countrys borders were becoming safer under Shahs leadership and Rajasthan was also benefiting from itSharma said the state was progressing under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi and credited Shah with playing an important role in eliminating the problem of Leftwing extremism and implementing new criminal lawsWith PTI inputs