Vande Mataram debate likely to dominate Parliament’s winter session

The discussion over the National Anthem is likely to surface at the start of the upcoming winter session of Parliament. The 150th anniversary of ‘Vande Mataram’ was recently celebrated. To commemorate this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed a message of nationwide celebration. Indeed, such celebrations took place. On November 7th, the BJP organised rallies in several locations across the state. However, the matter did not remain confined to this. Numerous BJP leaders voiced their demands for ‘Vande Mataram’ to be recognised as the national anthem, rather than merely a national song. The winter session of Parliament is set to begin on December 1 and will continue until the 19th. At the outset of this session, the central government aims to indirectly keep the ‘Vande Mataram’ controversy alive.

A government official, who wishes to remain anonymous, has stated, ‘The central government seeks to discuss Vande Mataram on the very first day of the winter session; there is an all-party meeting on Sunday, where this issue will also be raised.’ However, the opposition desires discussions on SIR, air pollution, the repeal of GST on air purifiers, and other related matters. The parliamentary party of the Trinamool Congress has stated that they wish to discuss the ‘SIR rollout, the oppression of Bengali speakers, the unreasonable Election Commission, and the deprivation of Bengal in the Parliament.

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Narendra Modi has raised a big allegation against the current national song, Vande Mataram, which is a half-song. After releasing the commemorative stamp and coin of Vande Mataram, while giving a message to the countrymen, he mentioned the issue of the missing stanza. He said, “The Vande Mataram song was broken into pieces. Important stanzas were omitted.” However, the Congress has refuted this allegation. They claim that it was suggested by Rabindranath Tagore. This time, the debate may come up in the upcoming winter session. Although the tone of the opposition camp is completely different. The ‘hot topic’ across the country is now the Special Intensive Revision of Voter Lists, or SIR. Earlier, the opposition camp had repeatedly demanded a discussion on the SIR issue during the monsoon session. But even then, that discussion did not take place. Some believe that the opposition may create an opportunity again during the winter session.

If the opposition party insists on discussing the SIR, it may disrupt the parliamentary session. The month-long monsoon session has already witnessed sudden breaks and interruptions due to the opposition’s demands to discuss the SIR activities. At that time, the government rejected the claims, stating that matters under judicial consideration cannot be discussed in Parliament. The government also referenced a ruling by the then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar in 1988, which stated, ‘Under the existing constitutional provisions, Parliament cannot comment on the activities of the Election Commission.’ Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, stated during a programme at a national media house, “Any discussion by a constitutional authority that clearly pertains to an autonomous body (the EC) is not advisable, primarily because the government cannot speak on behalf of such authorities.”

He further said, “Assume you wish to discuss the activities of the Supreme Court… This is distinct from judicial reform… Therefore, when matters are sub judice or related to the Election Commission and the courts, the position is that, since they are autonomous constitutional bodies, these cannot be discussed in Parliament unless the issue pertains to some reform, which the government can always introduce. If the matter (SIR) needs to be discussed, it must be elaborated (for instance, this too is a reform)… We can contemplate this matter.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju has stated that the government has prepared a “serious reform agenda” for the winter session.