NEW DELHI: A BJP MP Friday alleged that the Congress did not oppose Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq's assertion that reciting 'Vande Mataram' was against Islam.
Participating in a discussion on a private member's resolution, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were seen thumping the desk when Barq made the remarks in the House.
While taking oath as a member of Lok Sabha, Barq said he would not recite 'Vande Mataram' in Parliament as "it is against Islam".
On Dubey's allegation, Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Gandhis were not thumping the desk and that the allegation was not true.
It was Congress that popularised "Vande Mataram" in the country, he said.
Vande Mataram is a Bengali poem written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1870s.
It was composed into song by Rabindranath Tagore.