'We Will Take Legal Steps': Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Descendant Warns Congress Over Vande Mataram Row

North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, a direct descendant of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, on Thursday sharply criticised the Congress for deciding to sing only the first two stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram at party events.

Speaking to ANI, Chatterjee accused the Congress of staging a “drama” to regain relevance. “In the political scenario in India, Congress holds no value. They are doing this drama to gain some value, so that they can come into the limelight. Right now, Congress has become history,” he said.

He indicated that legal steps could follow after consultations. 

“We will take legal steps. I need to speak with my family. I will also speak to my party. After that, we will take legal steps. But if a legal step is to be taken, it will be taken by the family — this is what we want,” Chatterjee said. He added that the Congress Working Committee “is not above Indian law” and must operate within its purview.

The remarks came after the Congress Working Committee resolved that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be rendered at party programmes, citing the party’s 1937 resolution. The decision followed a controversy in which the BJP accused Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi of conversing during the national song’s rendition at Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

Congress MP KC Venugopal defended the stance, stating that the party’s position was clear and that it would adhere to the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also criticised the move, accusing the Congress of reviving an “extreme policy of appeasement.” He told ANI that the decision was not merely symbolic but a repetition of a historical error that had contributed to the partition of India.