Lucknow, Dec. 22 -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said Vande Mataram is not merely a song but the soul of India's freedom struggle, adding that the national song of the country became the first and biggest victim of Congress' appeasement politics.

Participating in a discussion marking 150 years of 'Vande Mataram' in the State Legislative Assembly during the winter session, CM Yogi said, "Vande Mataram became the first and biggest victim of Congress's politics of appeasement. Was limiting Vande Mataram to two stanzas the result of a religious compulsion or a planned conspiracy against national consciousness?"

The UP Chief Minister claimed that Muhammad Ali Jinnah objected to Vande Mataram and that the Congress in...