'Against communal pressure, appeasement and vote-bank politics': BJP's Vande Mataram salvo at Congress over two

'Against communal pressure, appeasement and vote-bank politics': BJP's Vande Mataram salvo at Congress over two-stanza decision

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday passed a resolution defending the complete six-stanza version of Vande Mataram and strongly condemning the Congress Working Committee’s decision to restrict the singing of the National Song to its first two stanzas at Congress programmes.

The resolution, adopted at the BJP’s national office-bearers’ meeting on August 22, said the party would undertake a nationwide campaign to spread awareness about the history, meaning and national significance of Vande Mataram, with a particular focus on the younger generation.

The BJP opposed the CWC’s August 19 decision to re-adopt its 1937 resolution limiting the rendition of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas at party programmes. It described the complete song as an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, a mantra of the freedom struggle and an “immortal symbol” of India’s national consciousness.

The party said it would protect the “honour, dignity and legacy” of the complete six-stanza Vande Mataram and reaffirm what it described as the Constituent Assembly’s 1950 declaration and Parliament’s 2026 law granting statutory protection to the National Song at par with Jana Gana Mana.

The resolution also said the Congress Working Committee’s decision could not override the Constitution or laws enacted by Parliament. According to the BJP, the political compromise reached in 1937 could not be placed above the constitutional settlement of 1950 and legislation passed in 2026.

It further resolved to oppose attempts to make the National Song subordinate to “communal pressure, political appeasement or narrow vote-bank considerations”. The BJP said it would place before the public the historical circumstances surrounding the truncation of Vande Mataram, including objections raised by the Muslim League and the politics of communal and separatist demands.

The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns and unequivocally opposes the decision taken by the Congress Working… pic.twitter.com/pcMiq4qBfF — Nitin Nabin (@NitinNabin) August 22, 2026

The resolution traced the song’s role in the freedom movement to its emergence as a powerful nationalist slogan. It recalled that Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, became a rallying cry during the Swadeshi movement following the partition of Bengal in 1905. The British administration attempted to suppress the song, including banning its public singing in Barisal in 1906.

The BJP also referred to the 1923 Kakinada Congress session, where Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar began singing Vande Mataram and Congress president Maulana Mohammad Ali objected and walked out.

On October 28, 1937, the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two of the song’s six stanzas would be sung at national occasions, citing objections to religious references in the remaining portions. The BJP resolution linked the decision to the political circumstances of the period and the objections raised by the Muslim League.

The party also invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s assessment of the song, saying he had described Vande Mataram as an “anti-imperialist slogan” associated with the “purest national sentiment”.

The resolution recalled that on January 24, 1950, Constituent Assembly president Dr Rajendra Prasad declared Jana Gana Mana the National Anthem and said Vande Mataram, given its historic role in the freedom struggle, would have “equal honour and equal status”.

The BJP said its nationwide campaign would ensure that the complete National Song and its history were not forgotten. It said younger generations should understand the song’s association with India’s freedom struggle, sacrifice and patriotic awakening.

“This is not merely a matter concerning a political party,” the resolution said, describing the issue as one concerning India’s honour and the legacy of patriots who sacrificed for the country. It argued that the words “Vande Mataram” had once been powerful enough to frighten an empire because they awakened resistance and were subsequently carried by generations as a mantra of freedom and national pride.

The BJP said that legacy could not be reduced to contemporary vote-bank calculations and that there would be no compromise with the honour of Vande Mataram for political convenience or appeasement.

The party further said that the call of “Vande Mataram” that echoed during the freedom struggle would continue into the vision of a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The resolution came amid an ongoing political dispute over the Congress’s position. The CWC’s decision followed BJP criticism of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi, whom the BJP accused of conversing while Vande Mataram was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15. The BJP had demanded a public apology.

After the CWC meeting, Congress MP KC Venugopal said the party’s position on the recitation of Vande Mataram was clear and that it would follow the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937.

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