BJP lodges complaint against Sonia Gandhi over Vande row

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have lodged a formal complaint against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at the Urwa Police Station in Karnataka on Sunday, following a controversy during the recitation of the national song Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Independence Day.

The controversy erupted after visuals from the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters showed senior party leaders speaking among themselves while Vande Mataram was being recited. BJP leaders have criticised their conduct, alleging that it amounted to disrespect towards the National Song.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Sunday criticised the Congress leadership, alleging that the opposition party harbours deep discomfort and disrespect toward the national song, 'Vande Mataram'.

Targeting Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, he said their visible discomfort during the event revealed their true position.

"Yesterday, the Congress revealed its true face to the country and the world. They harbour such hatred for 'Vande Mataram'... You saw how uncomfortable Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge became yesterday the moment the full version of 'Vande Mataram' was played... When they saw it had been recorded on camera, they tried to give explanations," said the BJP leader. -- ANI