Marking the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the grand old party had been the proud flag-bearer of the National Song that awakened the collective soul of the nation and became a rallying cry during the freedom struggle.

In a statement, Kharge said, “India’s National Song ‘Vande Mataram’, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, embodies the spirit of Bharat Mata and celebrates India’s unity in diversity.”

“The Indian National Congress has been the proud flag-bearer of ‘Vande Mataram’. It was during the 1896 session of the Congress in Calcutta that Vande Mataram was sung publicly for the first time by Rabindranath Tagore. That moment infused new life into the freedom struggle,” said Kharge.

He said as the British Empire’s policy of

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