Indian National Congress has refused to sing the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’ song, which energized millions of freedom fighters during British rule. Home Minister Amit Shah described this decision as “anti-national”. He said, Congress Working Committee has taken “a surprising and anti-national decision”.
Shah said, “Congress party adopted a resolution in 1937 when the party decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. I want to remind the entire country that in 1937, for Muslim appeasement, the Congress party laid the foundation for the partition of the country by dividing Vande Mataram into two. From there, the two-nation theory gained strength and eventually, the country was partitioned and Pakistan was born.” Shah said: “Today, when our government corrected that historical mistake by enacting law for singing the full version of Vande Mataram, Congress decided to reject it. This decision by Congress only confirms their extreme policy of vote bank appeasement.”
One thing is clear. The Muslim League’s stand was clear even before India got freedom. But one must try to understand why the Congress is confused over the national song. On the last day of monsoon session, the entire block of Congress MPs stood and joined the playing of the full version of Vande Mataram. Two Congress chief ministers, Revanth Reddy and Sukhbir Singh Sukhu are following the law enacted by Parliament on Vande Mataram, but the controversy began when Sonai Gandi objected to the playing of the full version of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters on Independence day.
The Congress now says, the party had decided way back in 1937 to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram. Congress wants to follow the path it chose 89 years ago but is unwilling to accept the law that was enacted by Parliament in 2026. Nobody should be surprised over this. The problem relates to vote bank. In the last three stanzas of Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata has been depicted as Goddess Durga and Goddess Lakshmi. The Muslim League had opposed this in 1937 and the Congress then bowed to its demand.
Now, the Congress feels that if it accepts the full version of Vande Mataram, Muslims will become unhappy. Congress has not changed but it does not want to admit its appeasement policy. Amit Shah has hit the raw nerve of Congress on this point. Naturally, Congress is restless and worried.
Champat Rai : His obstinacy is his problem
The former general secretary of Ram Mandir Trust in Ayodhya, Champat Rai, has become active again. Yesterday he circulated a nine-page letter in which he listed the steps that he had taken for transparency in the running of the temple. He made no mention of the theft of donation money but went into the nitty-gritty of how the temple was built and how it was managed. Champat Rai wrote that no cheque books were issued for the three bank accounts operated by the Trust and all payments were made online.
For internal audit, different firms were hired. No fee was charged for darshan, sewa, aarti and prasad. Everything was free. Champat Rai claimed that all rules were followed when he was the general secretary of the trust. He however mentioned the name of Nripendra Mishra, who headed the temple construction committee. He said all decision relating to construction were taken by Nripendra Mishra and the trust had no say in it.
Champat Rai has not become active suddenly. He was not sitting idle. For the last two weeks, he had been meeting sadhus and heads of monasteries and temples in Ayodhya. His associate Anil Mishra was also active. Champat Rai was waiting for the final SIT report. He knew that the SIT probe was confined to the theft of donation money and not about mismanagement. Naturally, he got the clean chit from SIT. Champat Rai made no mention of donation theft in his nine-page letter because he is not only projecting himself as innocent but also wants to convey that he was being unfairly nailed. Champat Rai’s obstinacy is his problem. He faced problems in the past because of his obstinacy and he is now heading on that path again.
Why Delhi Master Plan can’t be a success
The Centre yesterday unveiled Delhi Master Plan 2047. Urban Affairs and Housing Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, Delhi’s population will swell to 3.2 crore by 2047, a jump of 80 lakh in 20 years. The MPD says, high-rise buildings will now be the norm and 40 lakh new flats will be built. Only areas surrounding Delhi Palam airport and Lutyens Zone will be kept free from high-rise buildings.
Buildings that are aged 50 years or more will now give way to high-rise buildings. In place of jhuggis, multi-storied buildings will be built and flats will be given to slum dwellers. Delhi’s biggest problem is: the city was originally built for a population of 70 to 80 lakhs. Now, more than 2.5 crore live in Delhi. The Master Plan says, population will cross 3 crore by 2047. Even if Delhi Metro is expanded, more buses are run and more flats are built, it will be inadequate to cater to the burgeoning population. Water and electricity is almost free in Delhi. People earn money by engaging in small jobs. That is why there is always a rush of more and more people from other parts of the country who come and stay in Delhi.
This is causing tremendous pressure on facilities that are available. Even Gurugram and Noida, which were built later as satellite towns, have now become overcrowded. So long as this problem is not solved, no master plan can succeed, even if it is prepared with good intentions.