BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday said the political debate over whether the full version of Vande Mataram should be sung was “not right”, and urged governments and political parties to focus on issues of public interest, particularly youth unemployment.
In a post on X, Mayawati said the law recently passed by Parliament on the singing of Vande Mataram was not the first instance of such a change. She alleged that successive governments often amend laws enacted by their predecessors to serve political interests or divert public attention from their shortcomings.
“The ongoing politics in the country right now regarding whether to sing the full Vande Mataram, just the first two stanzas, or not sing it at all is not right,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said.
Mayawati said the Centre, State governments and political parties should instead focus on youth unemployment and concerns affecting students and Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha.
She also drew attention to severe floods in parts of the country and the resulting loss of life and property, saying several other pressing issues required immediate attention.
Her remarks came amid a war of words between the BJP and Congress over the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram.
The BJP criticised the Congress for deciding to sing only two stanzas, calling the move “anti-national” and alleging that it was aimed at appeasing its vote bank despite the new law.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit back, calling BJP leaders “fraudulent nationalists” and accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of politicising the national song to divert attention from issues affecting people, including students.
The row followed the Congress Working Committee’s decision on Wednesday to sing only two stanzas of the national song instead of the full version at its events. The dispute has since widened, with both parties invoking Partition, nationalism and history to justify their positions on how Vande Mataram should be rendered.
(With inputs from PTI)