Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 20: The political row over the national song 'Vande Mataram' has intensified after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided that only its first two stanzas will be sung at future party programmes.
The decision was taken during a four-hour CWC meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. The move has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the Congress of politicising the national song and alleged that the decision was aimed at appeasing a vote bank.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin criticised the Congress decision in a post on X, accusing the party of insulting 'Bharat Mata' and disrespecting those who sacrificed their lives for the country. He alleged that the Congress had now formally adopted its stand on the national song as a party policy.
The controversy comes after the BJP-led central government made the complete version of 'Vande Mataram' mandatory at official functions. The Congress has opposed the move, maintaining that the BJP is turning the national song into a political issue and reiterating its decision to sing only the first two stanzas at party events.
The issue gained fresh attention on August 15 after a video from the Congress headquarters showed the complete version of 'Vande Mataram' being sung during an Independence Day programme. The BJP subsequently alleged that Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi had attempted to stop the full version from being played.
The Congress, however, rejected the allegation and clarified that Gandhi was asking for a chair for party president Mallikarjun Kharge and was not attempting to stop the rendition.
Since then, leaders of both parties have exchanged accusations over the issue, with each side alleging that the other is attempting to politicise 'Vande Mataram'.
'Vande Mataram', written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, was first published in the literary journal 'Bangadarshan' on November 7, 1875. The song subsequently became closely associated with India's freedom movement.