New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday targeted the Congress party amid escalating a fresh political war of words over national pride and cultural heritage, accusing it of harbouring a "tukde-tukde" mindset and disrespecting Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's iconic composition, Vande Mataram.

Speaking to ANI, he alleged that the Opposition party has consistently failed to accord due reverence to the song, both during its centenary during the 1975 Emergency and today as the nation approaches 150 years of Vande Mataram.

"Just as the Congress fractured India and undermined the Ideas of India in 1947, they are now attempting to fragment Vande Mataram for political gain. The Congress must shed this divisive, '...