“When ‘Vande Mataram’ completed 100 years, the nation had to endure the dark period of the Emergency” : PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi slams Congress during the debate in Lok Sabha on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram

New Delhi – “When ‘Vande Mataram’ completed 50 years, our country was living in slavery. The nation was under foreign rule. When ‘Vande Mataram’ completed 100 years, the country was going through the dark chapter of the Emergency. At that time Indian democracy was strangled. Patriots were jailed.

When ‘Vande Mataram’ turned 100, India faced the darkness of Emergency – PM Modi

On the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, PM Modi slammed Congress in Lok Sabha, reminding the nation how the party imposed Emergency even as the song symbolised freedom and national pride. 🇮🇳🔥… pic.twitter.com/pKiLaxyt9k

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) December 8, 2025

Unfortunately, the nation had to witness a dark period then. ‘Vande Mataram’ is the same song that inspired us to attain independence in 1947,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in the Lok Sabha. Speaking during the discussion held on 8 December to commemorate 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, Modi strongly criticized the Congress while praising the song.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha. https://t.co/qYnac5iCTB

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2025

Nehru knelt before the Muslim League

Criticizing the Congress, Prime Minister Modi further said that :

on October 15, 1936, Mohammad Ali Jinnah raised slogans opposing ‘Vande Mataram’ from Lakshmanpuri (Lucknow). At that time, the then Congress President Jawaharlal Nehru sensed his throne trembling. Instead of giving a firm reply to the baseless statements of the Muslim League or condemning them, he did the opposite. He initiated an inquiry into ‘Vande Mataram’.” Five days later, Nehru wrote a letter to Netaji Bose, in which he expressed agreement with Jinnah’s sentiments, stating that “Muslims may be hurt due to the background of ‘Vande Mataram’ in Anandamath. They would get provoked.”

Subsequently, the Congress issued a statement announcing that a meeting of the Congress Working Committee would be held on 26 October to review the use of ‘Vande Mataram’. People across the country took out processions to protest against this proposal; yet the Congress continued to oppose ‘Vande Mataram’. History bears witness that the Congress knelt before the Muslim League. Unfortunately, the policies of the Congress remain unchanged even today.