Representational.
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday hit out at the BJP after the Rajya Sabha Secretariat reminded MPs not to use slogans like 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind' in Parliament in the name of decorum, and said those who did not lose anything in the freedom movement and sided with the British have problems with slogans associated with the independence struggle.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said earlier that the British had problems with these slogans, which were used in the freedom struggle, and now the BJP is having problems.
On November 24, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat reminded members not to use slogans like 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind' inside or outside the House to maintain decorum, citing them as a breach of parliamentary etiquette.
"I am shocked. What on earth is the objection to these slogans - the British had a problem with them, and now the BJP folks have too? What kind of people are they made of, those who find it difficult to utter the two most famous slogans of the freedom struggle in the House," Shrinate said in a video message.
She said 'Jai Hind' means the victory of Hindustan - may India always be victorious, and this was the most powerful slogan of the freedom struggle as it beats in the heart of every Indian.
"It was composed in 1907 by the revolutionary Chempakaraman Pillai from Travancore, Kerala. Between 1914 and 1918, Pillai was active in the Indian freedom movement in Germany. He was the first to use 'Jai Hind' as a greeting and slogan among Indian revolutionaries living abroad.
"In 1943-44, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Azad Hind Fauj made 'Jai Hind' their official greeting and slogan, making it even more popular. Netaji would end all his speeches and radio messages broadcast from South East Asia and Germany with 'Jai Hind'. Netaji chose it because it was secular and united everyone," she said.