Mangaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have lodged a formal complaint against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at the Urwa Police Station in Karnataka on Sunday in connection with the recitation of the national song 'Vande Mataram' at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day.
The controversy erupted after visuals from the Independence Day programme at the 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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday also accused the Congress of insulting the national song and demanded that the party apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who wrote the song.
He alleged that during programme, Sonia Gandhi had asked the party president to stop the song midway.
"We all saw it on television," Shah said, adding that Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's immortal soul.
However, the Congress asserted that Sonia Gandhi's actions had nothing to do with the national song played at the venue. The party maintained that she was merely trying to ensure that the correct arrangements for Vande Mataram were sung properly in the event.