PM, his brigade bruised, exposed for their lies: Cong on Vande Mataram debate
New Delhi (PTI): After both Houses held a debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram, the Congress on Thursday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and "his entire brigade" have been thoroughly "bruised and exposed for their lies".
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh noted that the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha debated Vande Mataram for this week.
The national anthem also figured in some speeches, he said in a post on X.
"It is clear that the PM and his entire brigade have NOT read the two definitive and authoritative books on the national song and the national anthem - written by two of India's finest historians, in the true sense of that term," Ramesh said and shared the screenshot of the cover pages of Rudrangshu Mukherjee's 'Song of India: A Study of the National Anthem' and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya's Vande Materam.
"It is too much to expect that they would do so even after being thoroughly bruised and exposed for their lies," the Congress leader said.
ALSO READ: Appeared under pressure: Rahul takes dig at Shah over LS speech
In another post, Ramesh said, "To clear up all the misinformation that the PM and his acolytes have been spreading, this is a compilation of 12 letters and notes penned by the many founding fathers of the Indian Republic, documenting their thoughts on Vande Mataram -- Letter from Rajendra Prasad to Sardar Patel (28/9/1937); letter from Subhas Chandra Bose to Rabindranath Tagore (16/10/37); letter from Tagore to Bose (19/10/37); letter from Bose to Nehru (17/10/37); letter from Nehru to Bose (20.10.37); letter from Tagore to Nehru (26.10.37);CWC Resolution on Bande Mataram (Kolkata 28/10/37); JB Kripalani to (C. Rajagopalachari) re Gandhi note (2/1/39); Rajaji to Patel re Gandhi note 7/1/39; Pant to Nehru re Gandhi note 8/1/39; Nehru to Pant re Gandhi not 16/1/39; Gandhi note in Harijan weekly (1.7.39)."
Earlier, Ramesh had cited historian Sugata Bose's remarks that it was on Rabindranath Tagore's advice that the party decided in 1937 that only the first part of Vande Mataram would be sung at national meetings, and said these comments "further expose" Prime Minister Modi.
While the Lok Sabha held the debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram on Monday, Rajya Sabha debated on it for over two days - Tuesday, Wednesday and a part of Thursday.
The Opposition on Wednesday accused BJP leaders of distorting history, with Ramesh saying that the whole aim of the debate on 150 years of Vande Mataram was to malign first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and insult freedom fighters, including Rabindranath Tagore.
On Monday, Modi tore into the Congress, alleging that Nehru betrayed "Vande Mataram" by bowing to Muhammad Ali Jinnah's opposition to the national song that led to it being fragmented and pandering to his communal concerns, putting India on the path of appeasement politics.
The debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram saw the treasury and opposition members locked in a verbal duel on a host of issues, including nationalism, in both Houses.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have debated Vande Mataram for three days. The national anthem also figured in some speeches.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 11, 2025
It is clear that the PM and his entire brigade have NOT read the two definitive and authoritative books on the national song and the national anthem -… pic.twitter.com/vesV41hNq2
To clear up all the misinformation that the PM and his acolytes have been spreading, this is a compilation of 12 letters and notes penned by the many founding fathers of the Indian Republic, documenting their thoughts on Vande Mataram -
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 11, 2025
1. Letter from Rajendra Prasad to Sardar…
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
86 nations, two int'l organisations sign AI Impact Summit declaration: IT Min Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the AI Impact Summit declaration, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said, adding that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.
The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Vaishnaw told reporters that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of 'welfare of all, and happiness of all'.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising Artificial Intelligence resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.
Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.
"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw said, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.
Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.
"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.
The mega AI Impact Summit secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, with Vaishnaw on Friday terming it a "grand success".
Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed five lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.
The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.
"More than five lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he had said.
Be it the ministerial dialogue, the leaders' plenary, the main inauguration function, or the Summit overall, the quality of participation and dialogue was phenomenal, Vaishnaw had pointed out.
The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.
Vaishnaw had said that the Summit reflected the world's confidence in India's role in the new AI age.
Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week - Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.
