“Congress leaders are undermining the integrity of the country for the sake of vote-bank politics and appeasement. Their stand on the national anthem and Vande Mataram is highly condemnable. This amounts to an insult to the freedom fighters and great personalities who sacrificed their lives for the country,” Union Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters in Dharwad on Sunday.

“The CBI has sought the Governor’s permission to file a chargesheet against Minister B. Nagendra with respect to the Valmiki Development Corporation scam. Despite this, the Congress government is trying to protect corrupt leaders. Those facing allegations should be immediately dismissed from the Cabinet,” he said.