NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday attacked the Congress for allegedly insulting the national song, "Vande Mataram", and claimed that the opposition INDIA bloc prioritises vote bank politics over the nation's dignity.
The BJP's attack came after two Congress councillors in Indore reportedly refused to sing "Vande Mataram" during a discussion on the city municipal corporation's budget on April 8, saying that Islam did not permit it.
Hitting out at the INDIA bloc, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla termed the opposition alliance "anti-India" and accused it of placing religious considerations above the Constitution.
"Congress councillors Fauzia Sheikh Alim and Rubina Iqbal declined to participate in Vande Mataram singing during proceedings. This is not the 'INDI' alliance, it is an anti-India alliance," the BJP spokesperson said in a post on X.
"They keep Sharia above the Constitution. Congress councillors from Indore refused to sing Vande Mataram during the proceedings. But they are not alone," he added in a video message on X.
Poonawalla alleged that the Congress, from India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, has disrespected "Vande Mataram".
The "Congress ecosystem" has opposed the national song since the beginning, he said, and alleged that several MLAs of the opposition party in Madhya Pradesh have also refrained from singing it.
"(Karnataka Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah has opposed Vande Mataram. And now the alliance members and Congress party leaders continue to refuse to sing it. This is because they put vote bank politics above the Constitution," Poonawalla said.
He also criticised other opposition parties such as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party.
AIMIM leader Waris Pathan backs the Congress councillors while NCP leader Fauzia Khan has said that singing "Vande Mataram" is against her religion. Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi has also opposed it, he charged.
"We know they are using this excuse of religion. But was Ashfaqullah Khan wrong in singing Vande Mataram? This is because they (opposition leaders) put vote bank politics above the nation's dignity," he said.
After the two Congress councillors reportedly refused to sing "Vande Mataram", BJP councillors rushed to the chairman's podium and raise slogans.
The Congress councillors later told reporters that their religion did not allow them to sing "Vande Mataram" -- a Sanskrit phrase meaning "I bow to thee, Mother".
Councillor Fauzia Sheikh Alim said she enjoyed religious freedom under the Constitution and no one could force her to sing "Vande Mataram".
As the controversy escalated, she said she respected the national song and would continue to do so.