Parliament Winter Session LIVE: PM Blames Nehru for ‘Vande Mataram Sabotage’; IndiGo Crisis Raised in Rajya Sabha

In the second week of the Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened the Lok Sabha debate marking the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, amid a renewed political flashpoint over the national song.

The controversy intensified after the Prime Minister accused the Congress of removing certain lines from the song in 1937, alleging that the decision “sowed the seeds of Partition.” Addressing the House, PM Modi also targeted former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and criticised past Congress governments, recalling how the 100th anniversary of Vande Mataram had coincided with the Emergency.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges over the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights across the country. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told the House that IndiGo had not flagged any operational issues in its meeting with the government earlier this month. The disruptions—over 4,500 flights cancelled since last Tuesday—were attributed to the airline’s “internal system and planning failures,” the minister said.

Key Updates from Parliament

Lok Sabha

• A 10-hour debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram is underway, with PM Modi initiating the discussion at noon. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also slated to speak.

• Responding to the PM’s remarks, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit back, saying the 1937 decision was taken by the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, among others.

• “By attacking that decision, the Prime Minister has insulted the CWC and Rabindranath Tagore,” Ramesh posted on X, adding that the RSS had “played no role” in the freedom movement.

Rajya Sabha

• The debate on Vande Mataram will continue in the Upper House on Tuesday, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah will open the discussion.

• Multiple ministers — including Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Culture), Jayant Chaudhary (Education), Pankaj Chaudhary (Finance), Shobha Karandlaje (Labour), Kirti Vardhan Singh (Environment) and Harsh Malhotra (Corporate Affairs) — will table official papers.