Rahul Gandhi Asks For National Anthem To Be Played. Then This…

New Delhi:

A video showing a national anthem blooper during Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra” in Maharashtra has triggered criticism and derision from the BJP.

In the viral video, the Congress leader asks for the “Rashtra Geet (national song)” to be played out at an event during a pit-stop in Maharashtra, and a different song in a different language plays out.

Many have also pointed out that it is the Rashtra Gaan or national anthem that he had asked for (the national song is Vande Mataram).

In the video, Rahul Gandhi announces on the mic – “Now the rashtra geet will play”. Everyone on stage stands to attention.

When an unknown song starts playing, Rahul Gandhi looks surprised and gestures at a Congress leader, who calls out to the person apparently in charge of the music.

According to Twitter posts, what was played by mistake was the Nepali anthem.

Finally, the national anthem rang out, but someone had chosen the longer, five-stanza version.

Thinking the anthem had ended after the first stanza, a leader started shouting “Bharat Mata ki jai” while it was still playing.

The song was stopped, and the slogans continued.

Several BJP leaders shared the video, either mocking the former Congress president or accusing him of “insulting the national anthem”.

A BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, Amar Prasad Reddy, shared the video with the question: “Rahul Gandhi, what is this?” 

भारत जोड़ने वालों का राष्ट्रगीत? pic.twitter.com/nMUR1KO9iZ

— Sunil Deodhar (@Sunil_Deodhar) November 17, 2022

Sh. @RahulGandhi, what is this?pic.twitter.com/LAabKCOzqP

— Amar Prasad Reddy (@amarprasadreddy) November 16, 2022

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari on September 7, will enter Madhya Pradesh on November 20 as part of a 12-state journey that will end in Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress leader will pause the yatra to campaign in Gujarat, which votes next month for a new government.