Actor Mukesh Khanna has made a rather shocking statement calling for the National Anthem to be replaced with ‘Vande Mataram’. The actor spoke with IANS on Sunday, and claimed that the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was written as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth.
He told IANS, “I have said this three years ago that ‘Vande Mataram’ should be made a national anthem. ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is not the national anthem of our country. It is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth. Rabindranath Tagore wrote a song in praise of her. We have accepted it. Bhagyavidhata, Punjab, Singh. It is not ours. ‘Vande Mataram’ is ours. Lata ji sang it so beautifully. I had a meeting with Kalyanji Anandji bhai. It has been two years since I have read it. I have recorded a Vande Mataram song for seven minutes which should become iconic.”