New Delhi [India], August 19 : BJP National General Secretary and MP Tarun Chugh slammed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his recent remarks regarding the Vande Mataram controversy, saying that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has played a "monumental role" in India's independence and nation-building.
Speaking to ANI, Chugh accused the Congress party of suffering from a narrow vision that limits the credit for India's freedom to only one family.
"The RSS has played a monumental role in the nation's construction and its struggle for independence. However, Mallikarjun Kharge and the Congress party seem to acknowledge only the role of the Gandhi-Nehru family," Chugh said.
The BJP leader further took a sharp dig at Kharge, labelling his loyalty to the Congress leadership as "sycophancy."
"Whether Mallikarjun Kharge chooses to be a mere sycophant or an arch-sycophant is a matter of his own character, but do not insult the contributions of the country's lakhs of freedom fighters and revolutionaries," Chugh added.
Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge remained defiant asserting that he sang the exact same version of the national song that leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel sang.
Highlighting his party's legacy, Kharge added that if singing that version constitutes a crime, the government should register an FIR against the late national leaders.
The controversy stems from video footage from the Congress headquarters showing Kharge and Sonia Gandhi conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15, prompting the BJP to accuse the party's top leadership of disrespecting "Vande Mataram" and demand a public apology.
"I sang the same 'Vande Mataram' that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru sang. If singing it is a crime, then they have been committing that crime for the past 18 years. If this is a crime, then file a case against Gandhi ji. If this is a crime, file one against Nehru ji. If this is a crime, then against Vallabhbhai Patel. They are unaware of the fact that, even before they were born, Congress had passed a resolution determining which national songs to adopt for the country. It is not the case that whatever you say becomes the national standard. Tomorrow, another government might come to power; if they say something, that becomes the rule. We have simply continued the practice that has been in place for 90 years," he told reporters.
Kharge attacked the BJP and RSS, questioning their contribution to the freedom movement and accusing them of being "anti-India" and "anti-religion."
Kharge said the BJP repeatedly talks about the Gandhi family and Sonia Gandhi. Drawing a contrast in political experience, he said he had been an MLA even before Union Home Minister Amit Shah was born.