New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- Vande Mataram is an inspiration to create Atmanirbhar Bharat and a prosperous India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, as he initiated the discussion on the 150th anniversary of the national song in the Lok Sabha. Modi blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for removing lines from the 1870 song to appease Muhammad Ali Jinnah-led Muslim League. "Under pressure, the Congress divided Vande Mataram, and that's why the Congress also had to buckle under pressure and partitioned India." He said the INC (Indian National Congress) has now become MLC (Muslim League-Congress). Modi spoke about the long-lasting impact of the song, how Vande Mataram became synonymous with India's freedom movement, and the aspirations and hopes for generations. Modi dubbed it an unparalleled poem in world history. He said that 150 years of Vande Mataram is "not just a moment to remember the past, but a source of energy and inspiration", as he ended his speech chanting Vande Mataram thrice. "Our forefathers dreamt about an independent India. Today's generation hopes for a prosperous India. Vande Mataram's spirit cultivated the hopes of an Independent India. It will now support the plans for a prosperous India." The Congress responded saying Modi's speech was intended to "rewrite history" and give a "political colour" to it, and asserted that no matter how much the BJP tries, it will not be able to put a single blot on the contribution of Nehru. The opposition party also said it was the Congress that gave "Vande Mataram" the importance it deserved and the status of national song. Modi narrated the song's long history and how it was intertwined with the changing times. He added that the song shaped the nation's character. "When India faced challenges, it moved ahead with the spirit of Vande Mataram. Today, we know how strong and resourceful we are. After 1947, the country's priorities and challenges became different. Forget about what happened in the past...now, when we celebrate 15th August and 26th January or the Har Ghar Tiranga event, we see the undying spirit of Vande Mataram all around us. At one point in time, there was a food shortage. With the same spirit of Vande Mataram, our farmers filled up the repositories of foodgrains," Modi said. Modi said that when the country's Independence was threatened, the Constitution was ignored, and the Emergency was imposed, the same power of Vande Mataram helped the country to rise again and defeat those powers. "Whenever the nation faced wars or external challenges, our soldiers stood firm on the frontiers with the power of Vande Mataram and hoisted the national flag. Whenever we face a global crisis, the country has risen with the spirit of Vande Mataram and moved ahead." Modi linked key national ambitions, such as Viksit Bharat or Atmanirbhar Bharat, with the ideals of Vande Mataram as he recited the stanza removed from the official rendition. Modi initially referred to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the poet of Vande Mataram, as "Bankim da" but later changed to a more formal "Bankim babu". "Vande Mataram manifests the power of this country. Like a river, it depicts...culture, and mirrors our development and prosperity. Vande Mataram is not a moment to remember the past. It remains a source of energy and inspiration. We owe it to Vande Mataram." Modi said these words inspired thousands of Indians, facing slavery, to realise that the fight was not for a piece of land, nor for power, but to remove the chain of slavery and revive the thousand-year-old culture and history. He questioned why the song, which Mahatma Gandhi envisaged as the national anthem, faced injustice. Modi said when the Muslim League's opposition to Vande Mataram started growing, the then-president of Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru, was rattled. "Instead of rebutting the Muslim League's speeches, condemning the Muslim League and emphasising his trust and the Congress's faith in Vande Mataram. Nehru did the opposite." He said Nehru wrote to Subhas Chandra Bose and supported Jinnah's point of view, and said Vande Mataram can irritate Muslims. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the National Song "has always been dear to us, has always been sacred to us, and will always remain sacred to us" and asked if it is "sung in the BJP-RSS sessions or not". Gandhi said the Modi government wants to divert the country's attention from essential issues concerning the public and asked for the rationale for a debate on the National Song, which people deeply revere. "There are two reasons for the debate on Vande Mataram in the House today. One, elections are coming up in West Bengal. In such a situation, our Prime Minister wants to establish his role, and second, those who fought the freedom struggle and sacrificed for the country--this government wants an opportunity to level new accusations against them. By doing this, the government wants to divert the country's attention from the essential issues concerning the public," Gandhi said....