After Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the debate in Parliament to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, the Opposition on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to “own” and politicise the patriotic song.

In his speech, Modi said that the “mantra of Vande Mataram” had given strength and inspiration to the freedom movement and claimed that the song had been sidelined earlier.

He also alleged that the Congress had compromised on the use of the song “under the guise of secularism and communal harmony”, calling it an example of the party’s “appeasement politics”.

Vande Mataram was written in Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 and is a popular patriotic song from India’s freedom movement.

The prime minister said in Parliament that his government would “restore the glory” of the song for future generations.

The song was a “sacred war cry to rid Bharat Mata of colonial rule”, he added. Bharat Mata is a symbolic personification of India as a mother deity.

Responding to Modi’s speech, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Union government of pushing for the debate to divert attention from pressing issues ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, PTI reported.

“We are having this debate as Bengal polls are coming and the prime minister wants to play his role in that,” she said. “This debate is strange, this song has made a place in people's hearts, so what is the need for a debate.”

Her party colleague Gaurav Gogoi said it was the Congress that had elevated Vande Mataram “from a slogan to a national song”.

Gogoi accused Modi of attempting to “rewrite and revise history” by indicating that “his political predecessors had personally fought against the British”.

The other objective of Modi’s speech, the Congress MP said, was to “give a political colour to this discussion about Vande Mataram”.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said the government should focus on living up to the values of the freedom struggle rather than attempting to claim the legacy of the song.

“Vande Mataram is not just for recitation but for abiding by,” he said. “How will those who never took part in the freedom struggle understand its importance of Vande Mataram? They are not ‘rashtrawadi’ [nationalists] but ‘rashtravivadi’ [those who divide the nation].”

Ahead of the debate, People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said the ruling BJP at the Centre was busy with “empty symbolism” instead of addressing other important matters such as the IndiGo flight disruptions.

“How will this political theatre create jobs, control soaring prices or tackle the real urgent problems weighing on millions on Indians?” she asked.

A Press Information Bureau note issued on November 6 to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram stated that the Constituent Assembly had adopted Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem and Vande Mataram as the national song.

The note quoted Rajendra Prasad, the first president, as having told the Assembly in January 1950 that Vande Mataram, because of its role in the freedom movement, “shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it”.

However, the Constitution mentions only the national anthem, not Vande Mataram.