Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vishweshwar Hedge Kageri has claimed that the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana , was written to “ welcome the British ”, the Deccan Herald reported on Thursday.

He added that Vande Mataram should have been chosen as the national anthem instead.

The MP from Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada made the remarks at an event in Honnavar town held to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram .

He said that Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram are “equal in stature”, and Vande Mataram should get the prominence it deserves.

“Its contribution to the freedom struggle must serve as an inspiration to us all,” the Deccan Herald quoted him as saying. “It must reach schools, colleges, youth and the masses.”

Jana Gana Mana was composed by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 and

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