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BJP accused TMC of neglecting Bankim Chandra, while Trinamool said the saffron party has little respect for Bengal’s cultural pride
Kolkata: BJP workers pay tribute to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, author of the national song Vande Mataram, during the song’s 150th anniversary celebrations. (Photo by PTI)
A new political standoff between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has erupted in West Bengal, this time over two of Bengal’s most revered cultural icons, Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattapadhyay.
The controversy erupted after Karnataka BJP leader Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri said that “Vande Mataram should have become the national anthem”. Kageri, a former speaker of the Karnataka state legislature, caused a stir by suggesting that India’s national anthem, She is Gana Manawas originally written as a “welcome song for British officials”. He stated this at the event on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth Vande Mataramarguing that Vande Mataram would be a better choice for the national anthem.
He later retracted his remarks after widespread criticism, saying he did not want to drag on “unnecessary public debate”.
The statement, however, sparked outrage in the TMC, which called it an insult to Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate who wrote She is Gana Mananational anthem of India.
The BJP, however, hit back accusing the TMC government of deliberately belittling the 150th anniversary Vande Mataram, a song written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to appease a certain community.
BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya in a statement for News 18said, “They want to appease one community and that’s why they don’t celebrate it like others. We know what’s happening in Bengal. We know how it supports one side. We celebrate Vande Mataram everywhere.”
On a day when BJP offices across the state organized massive celebrations Vande MataramThe TMC held a quieter celebration by laying flowers on a photograph of Rabindranath Tagore. The party accused the BJP of “trying to create a divide between Bankim Chandra and Rabindranath Tagore” for political gain.
Rejecting the BJP’s allegations, the TMC said the state government has already set up a special committee in honor of Bankim Chandra Chattapadhyay. The ruling party also criticized the BJP for what it called a “distortion of history” after some BJP leaders allegedly claimed that Tagore wrote She is Gana Mana to appease the British – a claim widely discredited by historians.
The TMC is set to take to the streets today over the Karnataka BJP leader’s remarks against Tagore. Senior AITC leaders will lay flowers at Tagore’s statue in Thakurbari (Jhorasanka) before staging a protest against what they termed the ‘Bangla-Birodhi BJP’. The meeting is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM and will be chaired by Dr. Shashi Panja and Vivek Gupta.
Currently, the two sides are locked in a bitter political battle, each invoking Bengal’s cultural heritage to bolster their narrative. While the BJP accuses the TMC of neglecting icons like Bankim Chandra, the TMC denies that the BJP’s rhetoric shows a lack of respect for the literary and cultural pride of Bengal.
Indian national song Vande Mataram On November 7, it turned 150 years old. Composed in Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, known as Bankim Chandra Chattapadhyay, in the 1870s, the song has become a timeless anthem of courage and unity, inspiring millions during India’s struggle for independence.
In 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India officially adopted the song and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, gave it the status of the national song. He noted that Vande Mataram played an important role in India’s struggle for independence and has earned a tribute along with the national anthem She is Gana Mana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the commemorative year Vande Mataram in Delhi and also issued a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion.
Kamalika Sengupta is Editor (East) at CNN-News18 / News18.com, focusing on politics, advocacy and women’s issues. She is an experienced multimedia journalist with more than 20 years of experience reporting from the East…More details
Kamalika Sengupta is Editor (East) at CNN-News18 / News18.com, focusing on politics, advocacy and women’s issues. She is an experienced multimedia journalist with more than 20 years of experience reporting from the East… More details
08 Nov 2025 09:15 IST
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