The Trinamool Congress has strongly reacted to a BJP MP’s statement that our National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya Hey” composed by Poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore had been written to please the British monarch.
“It clearly indicates their (BJP’s) reactionary and divisive character we will eagerly wait to see what their Desh Bhakt (patriotic) leadership does with him for insulting our National Anthem and its creator who incidentally is our National Poet being the first Nobel Laureate in the continent,” TMC spokesperson Arup Chakrabarty said adding while Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s who composed “Vande Mataram” too was a great personality and his contribution towards Indian freedom struggle, literature and culture could not be ignored “there was hardly any need to fan a controversy for political gains this is also a part of the BJP’s divisive politics.”
BJP MP VH Kageri, earlier, said, “Vande Mataram should have been our national anthem. However, Vande Mataram can be retained alongside Jana Gana Mana-a welcome song for the British officials.”
Incidentally, why “Jana Gana Mana” is the National Anthem, and “Vande Mataram “is the National Song of the country. The TMC earlier slammed the BJP MPs from Bengal for failing to show up at the floral tribute ceremony to another freedom fighter Desh Bandhu Chittaranjan Das. Their absence from the ceremony proved that they are “anti-Bengal,” TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh said.
The TMC’s criticism came on a day when the Union Government was celebrating the 150th year of the composition of Vande Mataram in 1875. The lines are a part of Chatterjee’s iconic novel “Ananda Math.” Referring to the celebrations in Delhi, Bengal Minister Bratya Basu wondered whether the 125th year of the composition of the National Anthem would be celebrated with a similar fanfare. “National Song is being celebrated that is good but whether the 125th year of the National Anthem will be celebrated with same passion,” he said. Meanwhile, Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday attacked the TMC Government for trying to thwart the celebrations of 150 years of the National Song in Bengal. “This is a jihadi Government that is more in love with the Jamaat and Jinnah they have no regards for the patriots and national icons,” he said.
His remarks came after a long procession led by him up to the Bankim Library in North Kolkata — where the writer lived for some time — to garland his statue failed to reach the destination as it had been dug up all through.
“They have intentionally dug up the 500-metre lane so that we cannot go up to the Bankim Library. This has been done last night. The library has not been opened and the statue stands in dirt it has not even been cleaned,” he said.
It clearly indicates their (BJP’s) reactionary and divisive character. We will eagerly wait to see what their Desh Bhakt. — Arup Chakrabarty, TMC spokesperson
