The BJP on Saturday accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of showing “utter disrespect” to Vande Mataram during the party’s Independence Day event and demanded an apology.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that the three leaders were not attentive and were talking among themselves while the National Song was being sung at the Congress headquarters. BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh also shared footage of the event on X, alleging that the leaders appeared “upset” during the rendition of the full song.
Trivedi alleged that the incident reflected the Congress’s position on the full version of Vande Mataram and sought an apology and clarification from its leadership. BJP spokespersons Pradeep Bhandari and RP Singh also criticised the Congress leaders over the alleged incident.
The Congress rejected the allegations. General secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party continued to follow a 1937 Congress Working Committee decision, taken on Rabindranath Tagore’s advice, under which the initial stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung at Congress sessions.
Ramesh said the full version was sung at the Congress headquarters on Saturday and there was no controversy over it. He also denied that Sonia Gandhi tried to stop the rendition, saying she was asking for a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a long time.
The controversy comes days after Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill by voice vote on July 30, a day after the Rajya Sabha approved it. The legislation makes insulting the National Song a punishable offence and accords Vande Mataram status on par with the National Anthem.
