Guwahati, Oct 29: The Assam government on Wednesday has ordered a probe after a video purportedly showing a senior Congress leader singing Bangladesh’s national anthem, Amar Sonar Bangla, during a party meeting in Sribhumi district went viral, triggering a political controversy in the state.
According to reports, the incident occurred on October 27 during a Congress Seva Dal meeting at Indira Bhavan, the party’s district office in Sribhumi. In the video, 85-year-old Congress leader and poet Vidhu Bhushan Das is seen rendering a few lines from Amar Sonar Bangla, a song penned by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who also wrote India’s national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
Following the video’s circulation, Assam Fishery Minister Krishnendu Paul directed the district administration to verify the incident. “We have received oral instructions from the minister to conduct an inquiry and confirm the facts,” a senior district official said.
Minister Paul alleged that the incident reflected the Congress party’s “affinity for Bangladesh,” remarking, “The Congress gave birth to Pakistan, and Bangladesh was part of that country.
Singing its national anthem shows their love for the neighbouring nation.” He added that legal action would be taken if the allegations were substantiated. Reacting to the controversy, Sribhumi District Congress president Tapas Purkayastha dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
“Don’t play politics with Rabindranath Tagore. Our respected senior leader only sang two lines of a Tagore composition. Calling it anti-national is an insult to Tagore himself,” he said. Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi also defended the leader, accusing the BJP of attempting to divert public attention through manufactured controversies.
He said, “The song reflects Bengali cultural pride. The BJP has consistently disrespected the Bengali language and culture.” The BJP, on the other hand, slammed the Congress for “appeasing Bangladeshi infiltrators” and indulging in “vote-bank politics.”
The controversy has once again highlighted the delicate linguistic and cultural balance in Assam, where Bengali-speaking communities coexist alongside various ethnic and indigenous groups.
IANS
