India, Dec. 9 -- Congress president and the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday reminded the BJP that when its ideological ancestors were too scared of patriotism and were in the service of the British, the grand old party popularised 'Vande Mataram' and made it the theme song of the freedom movement, with its leaders and workers dying and going to jail while reciting it.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the 150th anniversary of the national song, Kharge blasted the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for selectively targeting Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Countering Prime Minister Modi's charges that Nehru removed four stanzas from the song to appease the Muslim League and its leader M...