Bjp Accuses Sonia Gandhi Of Objecting To Vande Mataram Recitation Congress Denies

The BJP on Saturday accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the recitation of the full version of Vande Mataram at the Congress party’s Independence Day event. Congress denied the allegation, asserting that Sonia Gandhi was asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who had been standing for some time.

BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, sharing a video of the recitation on X, said: “Mother, son and national president seem to be upset by the rendering of the full Vande Mataram. Certain mindsets never change from pre-1947 to post-1947.”

Former Union minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur said Congress had once again demonstrated how uncomfortable its leaders were with Vande Mataram. “This is not a question of any party’s protocol; it is a matter of respect for the entire nation.” Accusing Congress of “petty and appeasement politics”, he demanded an apology from its leaders to the people of India.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh cited a CWC meeting held in Calcutta on October 28, 1937, where on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore, it was decided that only the opening stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung at Congress sessions.

“We have been singing those lines at every session since then. Our Seva Dal sings it, our workers sing it, there is no controversy over that,” Ramesh said, adding that the full version of the national song was sung on Saturday. Categorically denying any attempt to stop the singing, he said, “As the Congress president had been standing for a long time, Sonia ji was asking for a chair for him.”

BJP spokesperson C R Kesavan termed Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi “unpatriotic” and accused them of “blatantly insulting our glorious Vande Mataram on Independence Day”.

“The Congress first family has demeaned the sacrifices of freedom fighters who gave their lives for the country’s Independence, chanting Vande Mataram. Nehru’s Congress truncated Vande Mataram in 1937 for appeasement politics; Rahul’s Congress, driven by the same agenda, has gravely insulted it today. Shame on the Congress leadership,” he said.

Former Kerala CM and senior CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan, however, criticised Congress from the opposite direction, accusing it of abandoning its legacy of secular democracy. “The full version of Vande Mataram was sung at Independence Day functions, including at the AICC headquarters and in Congress-ruled states, despite there being no legal obligation to do so. This ideological convergence weakens the united struggle of secular forces against communalism. At a time when defending India’s secular and democratic character demands greater unity, Congress’s capitulation to the Sangh Parivar only serves to undermine it,” he said.