Modi silent on 'Vande Mataram' debate, cornered on Rahul Gandhi's question

A heated debate has recently erupted in the Lok Sabha over 'Vande Mataram'. Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenged Home Minister Amit Shah face-to-face, but the government did not give any answer. As a result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP have finally found themselves in a corner in the debate.

Since the beginning of the Lok Sabha winter session, the opposition has been demanding a discussion on the functioning of the Election Commission, the process of intensive revision of the electoral roll (SIR) and electoral reforms. The government had planned to hold a discussion on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the national song 'Vande Mataram'. However, when the opposition forced them to accept their demands, the government expanded the topic of discussion to 'electoral reforms'.

The opposition has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) did not play a positive role during independence, but rather helped the British rulers. For a long time, the national flag has not been hoisted or the song 'Vande Mataram' has not been sung in the RSS branches and headquarters. When Prime Minister Modi called 'Vande Mataram' creator Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 'Bankimda', revolutionary Pulin Bihari Das 'Pulin Bikash' and Surya Sen 'Master', it is ridiculous and worthless, according to the opposition, confusing history.

Rahul Gandhi directly challenged in the Lok Sabha that there are irregularities in the Election Commission and the voting process. The opposition leader has no role in the three-member Commission committee. No case can be filed against the members of the Commission for work related to the Commission. He also questioned the new rule of destroying CCTV footage after 45 days of the election, and the policy of not providing 'machine readable' voter lists to political parties.

Amit Shah did not accept the challenge to respond to Rahul's allegations. Instead, he cited examples of old opponents, saying that Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi came to power by stealing votes.

The opposition said that the BJP had been vocal about 'Vande Mataram' before the West Bengal elections, but Modi's speech and his comments during the debate proved to be against the party's interests.

In the end, the debate saw several leaders of the opposition parties standing by the Congress and putting the BJP on the dock. They emphasized on voting rights and transparency in the election process, highlighting history, the freedom struggle and the role of the RSS.