The Bengal BJP will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composition of Vande Mataram across the state amid much fanfare ahead of next year’s Assembly polls.
The move is being considered to be an attempt to evoke the sentiments of Bengal and Bengalis by connecting to the national song and its author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, at a time when the ruling Trinamool Congress has been branding Narendra Modi’s party as anti-Bengali.
Vande Mataram was composed by Bengali polymath and author Bankim in 1876 and was later included in his patriotic novel Anandamath published in 1882.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said the year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composition of Vande Mataram would begin on November 7.
All top BJP leaders, including those from Delhi, would participate in multiple programmes at places associated with Bankim, Bhattacharya said.
“In 1937, the Congress Working Committee held a meeting where they fragmented Vande Mataram into parts. We want the new generation to know the complete version of Vande Mataram, not just the shortened one. Our central ministers and national leaders will participate in this programme on November 7. Yesterday (Tuesday), the entire verses of Vande Mataram were performed at 61 locations,” said Bhattacharya.
The celebration was, however, first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Mann Ki Baat programme on October 26, where he said that the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram would be celebrated across the country.
“Although it will be a national programme, it holds special significance for Bengal, as its author hailed from this state and the song embodies the pride of Bengal. Therefore, it is the right time for the party to take part in such a programme celebrating a national song that has its roots in Bengal. Yes, ahead of the Assembly election, it is very important to highlight the legacy of Vande Mataram, particularly its complete verses,” said a senior BJP leader.
As part of the celebration, BJP national general secretary Sunil Bansal will be present at Vande Mataram Bhavan in Hooghly.
At Kanthalpara in North 24-Parganas — the ancestral home of Bankim — Union minister of state Sukanta Majumdar will attend a cultural programme.
The leader of the Opposition and Nandigram BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari will attend a programme on College Street in Calcutta.
Union minister and the party’s Bengal election in-charge Bhupender Yadav will attend a similar event in North 24-Parganas.
Trinamool has come down sharply on the BJP’s celebrations centred around the patriotic song.
“The BJP has no right to celebrate Vande Mataram, as their predecessors, like (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar, had given undertakings before the British to help the colonisers arrest those very freedom fighters who sang Vande Mataram,” said Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty.