Chandigarh: Former Minister of State (MoS) for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress and the Gandhi family over the controversy surrounding the rendition of Vande Mataram during the Independence Day celebrations, alleging that democracy and Parliament hold little or no value for them.
The remarks came after a controversy erupted during the Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony at the Congress headquarters, when the full rendition of the national song Vande Mataram was played, and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge were seen speaking and gesturing midway through the national song.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has since accused Congress leaders of attempting to interrupt or stop the complete rendition of Vande Mataram during the Independence Day celebrations, triggering a fresh political confrontation between the ruling party and the Opposition.
Speaking to IANS, Bittu alleged that the Gandhi family does not attach importance to democratic institutions or the Parliament.
“The reality is that Rahul Gandhi doesn’t understand these things easily, but Mata ji (Sonia Gandhi) understands quickly. She thought, ‘This is not Congress’ agenda; this is the nation’s agenda passed by Parliament. So something that we didn’t pass in Parliament — how can it be played in front of me?’ Because, after all, it’s the Gandhi family; for them, people, Parliament, and democracy hold no value,” the former Union Minister said.
The controversy has come shortly after Parliament passed the legislation providing statutory protection to Vande Mataram and making the deliberate obstruction or disruption of its singing a punishable offence.
Taking a further swipe at the Congress leadership, Bittu cited Parliament’s approval of the national song and questioned the reported reaction of Sonia Gandhi during its rendition at the party headquarters.
“The Parliament has unanimously passed this Bill, as accepted by Jairam Ramesh himself… Mataji (Sonia Gandhi) was upset, though getting so angry is not good for health. This is the song of the nation. On that very day, when we completed 80 years, which is a sacred festival for us like no other — August 15 — she got enraged over this. Fine, what can we do? Their spokesperson, however, has now changed the party’s stance,” the former Union Minister said.
He also sought to portray the episode as an indication of the Congress leadership’s alleged disconnect with the national significance attached to Vande Mataram and the Independence Day celebrations.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has rejected the allegations and clarified that there had been “no attempt” by the party to stop the national song from being played or prevent its complete rendition.
Additionally, Bittu also criticised senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram over his remarks that he was “proud to be a dimagi Naxalite”. This came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi described “dimagi Naxalism” as a challenge that continued to look for opportunities to promote violence, unrest and disorder in the country.
“P. Chidambaram (Congress MP) is now at the age of retirement, but I have one question for him and his party. When he was the Union Home Minister — he was, he will not become one again — if you look at the records, Naxalites and Maoists were the most active during his tenure,” the former MoS told IANS.
At that time, Bittu claimed that the Congress had “fully backed” the Maoists.
“The scale of killings witnessed in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh during that period has never happened since. Therefore, it is better if they (Congress) don’t speak about this at all,” he said.
Backing Prime Minister Modi’s remarks, BJP leader Bittu also said that even though armed Maoism has ended, Congress still possesses this “mindset”.
