NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that attacking tall leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and having debates on Vande Mataram cannot divert attention from the real issues.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the 150th anniversary of the national song, Kharge added that the purpose of the House must be to focus on the burning issues facing the nation, because the true tribute to Bharat Mata will be paid only when the Parliament debates the concerns of the people and their solutions.

Kharge countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charges that Nehru removed four stanzas from 'Vande Mataram' to appease the Muslim League and its leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah by reminding the BJP that it was their founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee who had formed a government in alliance with the Muslim League in Bengal and not Nehru.

He noted that the decision to adopt only the first two stanzas of the national song was taken in the Congress Working Committee meeting held in 1937.

He said, those present in the meeting that approved only the first two stanzas as the national song, included besides Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Abul Kalam Azad, Acharya Kripalani, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Dr Rajendra Prasad, GB Pant and others. “Why target Pandit Nehru selectively?” he asked, pointing out, it was a collective decision of all these leaders.

On real issues faced by the people of the country, he specially referred to the falling value of rupee against the US dollar and reminded PM Modi what he had said on the same issue as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2012.