Indore, April 12 -- Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari hit back at Chief Minister Mohan Yadav over the ongoing 'Vande Mataram' controversy in Indore, asserting that the national song is deeply embedded in the ethos of Congress workers and citizens.

His remarks came after CM Yadav asked Patwari to clarify the party's stand on a Congress councillor who allegedly refused to sing 'Vande Mataram' during proceedings of the Indore Municipal Corporation and called for strict action.

"Vande Mataram resides in the veins of every Congress worker and citizen of the country. The national song and the national anthem have been established by the ideology of the Congress party. When the freedom fighters were singing Vande Mataram to libera...