Barrackpore, West Bengal, In a veiled swipe at erstwhile Congress governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said forces in the country, which believe in dynastic and vote bank politics, censored the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ and neglected the heroes of Azad Hind Fauj who had fought for India’s independence.
Claiming that there is a “perverted trend” of abusing patriotism and nationalist feelings in the country, he said people should be wary of those who think “100 times” before uttering “Vande Mataram” or “Bharat Mata Ki Jai (all hail motherland)”.
“The country is witnessing a perverted mindset to abuse patriotism and nationalist feelings. ‘Vande Mataram’ is a celebration of ‘Maa-Mati-Manush’ (mother-motherland-people) but the song had been censored and tampered with. And now there is a shameless attempt to bury it,” he alleged at an election rally here in Bhatpara under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.
Reciting some of the ‘censored’ lines of ‘Vande Mataram’, he said that it is only BJP that has the courage to sing the whole song publicly.
Modi also claimed heroes of India’s freedom struggle were neglected for “vote bank and dynasty politics” before the BJP government took steps to respect to all those who played significant role in the country’s Independence and nation-building.
“It was a memorable moment for me when the National Flag was hoisted in the Red Fort to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind government. To respect the contribution of Netaji and Azad Hind Fauj, a ‘Kranti Mandir’ has been built inside the Red Fort.
“We have also paid respect to the other members of the Azad Hind Fauj and made them part of our Republic Day parade in Delhi last year. The Republic Day is being celebrated in the country for decades but none of the he previous governments remembered them,” he alleged.
