Deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, on Monday (8 December 2025) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of giving political color to the discussion on Vande Mataram and said that no matter how hard the Prime Minister and the people of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) try, they cannot tarnish the contribution of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. While participating in the discussion on Vande Mataram in the House, he also said, ‘BJP’s political ancestors had no contribution in the freedom struggle.’ Gogoi claimed that Congress was the first to chant Vande Mataram.

The Congress MP said, ‘I listened to the Prime Minister’s speech carefully. He had two objectives. His first objective was to try to convey that your (ruling party) political ancestors were fighting against the British. His second objective was to give a political color to this discussion. Gogoi said that the Prime Minister repeatedly mentions Congress and Nehru in every statement.

‘Taken name of former PM Nehru 14 times and Congress 50 times’

Gogoi said that earlier during the discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the House, Prime Minister Modi took the name of Nehru 14 times and the name of Congress 50 times. He said, ‘No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to put even a single black mark on his contribution.’ Referring to the historical perspective, the Congress leader said, ‘The Muslim League wanted to say that the entire Vande Mataram should be boycotted and at that time Maulana Abul Kalam Azad himself had said that he had no objection to Vande Mataram.’ He said, ‘Congress decided in one of its sessions that wherever any event is held, we will sing Vande Mataram.’ Gogoi said, ‘It was opposed by the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha and the Congress was criticized.’ He claimed that BJP has neither understood Bengal nor this nation.

Did PM Modi say this in Parliament on Nehru?

Prime Minister Modi claimed in the Lok Sabha on Monday that Vande Mataram was torn into pieces under the pressure of the Muslim League when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Congress President. Modi also said, “Congress bowed down on the partition of Vande Mataram, hence one day it had to bow down for the partition of India.” While starting the “discussion on the occasion of completion of 150 years of the national song Vande Mataram” in the House, Modi cited the Emergency imposed in the country in 1975 and said that when the national song completed 100 years, then the country was caught in the chains of Emergency. It happened and the Constitution was strangled.

Gaurav Gogoi, president of the Assam unit of the Congress, has written a letter to Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, urging him to postpone toll recovery till the highways are repaired in the state. In the Lok Sabha, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Gogoi claimed that there is increasing resentment among the people over toll recovery on highways, because the condition of highways is very bad.

Gogoi said in a letter to Gadkari, “The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) continues to collect tolls on major parts of NH-27 and NH-37, while roads suffer from deep pits, uneven surfaces and frequent waterlogging.” A copy of this letter was shared with the media on Saturday (August 23, 2025).

People demonstrated against toll plaza

Gogoi said, ‘These conditions threaten life, damage vehicles and travel delays. The theme of special concern is Sonapur-Raha (NH-27/NH-37) and Bahata Chariali (Madanpur)-Nalbari (Galia toll plaza) are toll plazas, where many accidents happen and travel time is also long.

MP from Jorhat Gogoi said that there have been demonstrations against both the current and upcoming toll plazas and people are opposing the increasing toll charges between floods, unemployment and inflation. He said, “Important truck drivers and transporters for Assam’s agricultural economy complain of huge cost, which increases the prices of essential commodities and puts more burden on domestic expenses.”

Demand for postponing toll collection until repairs are repaired

Gogoi said, “The matter has become essential in view of the recent Supreme Court verdict on the position of NH-544 in Kerala, stating that citizens cannot be forced to pay tolls to pass through drains and pits.”

Gogoi said that the order stressed that the basic basis of the toll collection is to provide safe and regulated access and the failure to ensure that weakens the validity of the toll system. He urged Gadkari to direct NHAI to postpone the toll collection on the toll plaza fixed by him till the highways are repaired.

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