New Delhi, Dec 09: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the opposition for questioning the need for the discussion on Vande Mataram to mark the 150 years of its formation and mentioned that the act of “avoiding discussion is not new”.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, HM Shah said, “Yesterday, many Congress members were questioning the need for the discussion on Vande Mataram and were calling it a political strategy and a way of diverting from the issues. No one is scared of discussions on the country’s issues; we are not the ones who boycott the Parliamentary sessions. If someone wants to discuss, they need to stop boycotting. All discussions will take place then; we are not scared of anything; we are not trying to hide anything. We are ready for debate on any issue.”

Stressing that the discussion is important because the country is marking the 150th anniversary of the composition of Vande Mataram, he said, “People also need to know that avoiding discussions on Vande Mataram is not new. We had not achieved Independence when Vande Mataram completed 50 years. When the golden jubilee of Vande Mataram was due in 1937, Jawaharlal Nehru reduced it into two pieces and limited the national song to two stanzas.”

He further asserted that when Vande Mataram was “limited” after it completed 50 years, that is when appeasement started.

“That appeasement led to the partition of the nation. If Congress had not divided Vande Mataram for its appeasement politics, the country would not have been divided into two. When Vande Mataram completed 100 years, everyone was awaiting the celebrations, but an Emergency was imposed. No one could glorify and raise the ‘Vande Mataram’ slogans, as everyone was imprisoned. Indira Gandhi imprisoned those who raised the slogan of Vande Mataram,” he said.

Referring to the discussions on Vande Mataram held in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Home Minister noted that both members of the Gandhi family (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) were absent from the House.

“Right from Jawaharlal Nehru to the current leadership, Congress continues to oppose Vande Mataram,” he added.

Slamming the Opposition, he said, “Some members raised questions in the Lok Sabha yesterday, asking why there is a need for the discussions on Vande Mataram. The need for discussion on Vande Mataram, the need for dedication towards Vande Mataram, was important back then; it is needed now, and it will always be significant for the formation of great India, which we have envisioned for 2047.”

He further called out the Opposition for linking the national song to the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections and said that “Vande Mataram is not limited to Bengal”..

“Some people think that because elections are approaching in Bengal, that is why Vande Mataram is being discussed; they want to diminish the glory of Vande Mataram by linking it to the Bengal elections,” he said.

“It is true that the composer of Vande Mataram, Bankim Babu, was from Bengal, the Anand Matth had its origin in Bengal, but Vande Mataram was not limited to Bengal or the country where it was composed. Everywhere in the world where our freedom fighters used to meet, they sang it. Today also, when our soldier at the border, or a policeman guarding the country from inside, sacrifices his life for the country, Vande Mataram is the only slogan he says as his last words.”

New Delhi, Dec 09: The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim bail to Sabzar Ahmad Sofi of Bijbehara, Anantnag who, on the reversal of acquittal by the J&K High Court, was taken back into custody nearly 19 years after he had been acquitted by a trial court.

Sofi had been acquitted on 5 March 2005 by the Sessions Court, Anantnag, in connection with a 2001 incident arising out of an irrigation dispute.

The trial court had held that the prosecution failed to prove its case, noting contradictions in witness testimonies and the absence of reliable corroboration.

The State appealed the acquittal in 2006, but the appeal remained undecided for almost two decades.

On 30 July 2025, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh reversed the acquittal, convicted Sofi under Section 304 Part II RPC, and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment.

Following the High Court’s direction to surrender, Sofi was sent back to jail after nearly 19 years of living as a free man, a development that drew attention to the prolonged pendency of criminal appeals in the region.

Before the Supreme Court, Sofi’s legal team comprising Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, Advocates Umair Andrabi, Tanisha, Naseer Jafri, Dilwar Barlaskar and others highlighted the discrepancies in the case.

The petition questioned the extraordinary delay of 19 years in deciding the State’s appeal, arguing that such a reversal after two decades violated the constitutional guarantee of a fair and timely process.

It also questioned the credibility of the prosecution’s primary witness, whose statements about the alleged weapon used shifted between a Liven (spade) and a Belcha (shovel), and raises inconsistencies in the alleged recovery of the tool.

The Supreme Court issued notice on the Special Leave Petition and granted Sofi interim bail, allowing him to be released while the matter is heard further.

“Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that out of the sentence of five years, the petitioner has already served sentence for about three years and four months. 3. Having regard to the aforesaid let the petitioner be 2 released on interim bail subject to such terms and conditions that may be imposed by the trial court,” said the top court, in its order.

New Delhi, Dec 09: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated at a meeting of all MPs of the ruling NDA on Tuesday for the coalition’s massive victory in the recent Bihar elections.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, who is also the BJP president, were among those present at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting held at the Parliament House complex here.

Modi was garlanded by JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha — both Rajya Sabha members.

On Monday, a delegation of NDA leaders from Bihar called on Modi and congratulated him for the alliance’s landslide victory in the state polls.

During the meeting on Monday, the PM told the NDA MPs to work with more vigour for the welfare of the people after the ruling alliance’s resounding victory in the Bihar assembly polls, saying with great victory comes great responsibility.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, which went to polls last month, the NDA secured 202 seats, paving the way for JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar to return as chief minister for the 10th time.

Among the alliance partners, BJP won 89 seats, JD(U) 85, LJP (Ram Vilas) 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha four.

Mumbai, Dec 09: IndiGo cancelled around 180 flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad on Tuesday, as the disruption in the crisis-hit airline prolonged for the eighth consecutive day, sources said.

“IndiGo is not operating 58 flights to and from Hyderabad on Tuesday. Of these, 14 are arrivals and 44 departures,” the sources said, adding that the number of cancellations at Bengaluru Airport stood at 121, of which 58 are arrivals and 63 departures.

Meanwhile, the carrier is likely to lose some of its routes to other domestic airlines during the ongoing winter schedule after Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government will “definitely” reduce IndiGo slots.

The Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline operates over 2,200 flights per day from 90-odd domestic destinations and 40-plus abroad destinations.

“We will definitely reduce the number of routes, which are in IndiGo’s (winter) schedule. The order to this effect will be issued. This will be a kind of penalty on the airline as they will not be able to fly on those (curtailed) routes,” Naidu told DD News on Monday.

He said the routes, which will be reduced from IndiGo’s schedule, will be given to other carriers. He added that when the airline demonstrates the ability to operate them, they will be returned to IndiGo.

The Gurugram-based carrier, which commands over 65 per cent of India’s total domestic traffic, had cancelled over 560 flights from six metro airports alone on Monday.