India, Dec. 8 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday initiate the much-awaited debate to mark 150 years of "Vande Mataram" in Parliament, paving the way for marathon discussions during the second week of the winter session.

The debate in Parliament is part of the year-long celebrations on the 150th anniversary of the national song -- written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and set to tune by Jadunath Bhattacharya. The discussion, which has been allocated eight hours, will begin in the Lower House with the PM's address on Monday, and Union home minister Amit Shah will be the opening speaker in the Rajya Sabhaon Tuesday, a person aware of the details said.

"Many important and unknown facets related to Vande Mataram come out in front ...