Cong's Deepender Hooda asks govt to install Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's statue in Parliament complex

New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) Congress MP Deepender Hooda urged the government on Monday to install a statue of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the composer of national song Vande Mataram, in the Parliament House complex.

Participating in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the completion of 150 years of Vande Mataram, the Congress MP said if the government brings a proposal to install Chatterjee's statue in Parliament, the opposition party will support it.

In an apparent swipe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for initiating the discussion on Vande Mataram, Hooda said, "India is our mother and no true devotee can bring his mother into politics." "Today, attempts are being made to use nationalism for electoral gains. Devotion to the motherland is being used for devotion to votes. Some people pronounce 'Vande Voteram' more than 'Vande Mataram'. The country is watching all this," he added.

Also participating in the debate, Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam said at least three hours should be given for a discussion on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur.

He also alleged that the BJP believes in dividing people and that its nationalism is based on religious and cultural imagination.

The Lok Sabha member from Inner Manipur said, "What is the purpose of this discussion? There are many real issues that need to be discussed. There is massive unemployment, poor air quality, the IndiGo crisis.... We are demanding a three-to-four-hour discussion on Manipur, but nobody cares. You talk about patriotism." He alleged that 65,000 people have been rendered homeless in the northeastern state due to the crisis caused by the "government's failure". PTI ASK RC