New Delhi [India], August 22 (ANI): The row over Vande Mataram intensified on Saturday, with BJP MP Sambit Patra accusing Sonia Gandhi of signalling to "stop Vande Mataram" after two stanzas when the Tricolour was being hoisted at the Congress office on August 15.
Addressing a press conference, Patra said, "...This is the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. On August 15, 2026, the complete Vande Mataram, which has six stanzas, was sung from the Red Fort. But on August 15, an indecent act took place at the Congress office. In the presence of Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, when the Tricolour was being hoisted, Sonia Gandhi signalled to stop Vande Mataram after two stanzas. On August 19, a proposal came in at the CWC meeting stating that we will sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. We all know why this decision was taken in 1937..."
He further alleged that the nation is witnessing the "politics of appeasement" of the Congress.
"Today, in the meeting of BJP office-bearers, the national president has instructed that every BJP worker will go to every street and corner of the country to sing the glories of Vande Mataram. We have to tell people about Vande Mataram...The entire country is watching the politics of appeasement of the Congress party," he said.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday passed a major resolution on the honour and historic legacy of 'Vande Mataram' and said that it will lead a nationwide campaign to raise awareness around the history and significance of the National song.
The party strongly condemned the Congress Working Committee's decision taken on August 19 to re-adopt its 1937 resolution that restricts the singing of Vande Mataram to only its first two stanzas at Congress programmes.
The BJP said it considers Vande Mataram as India's National Song, an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, the mantra of the freedom struggle and the immortal symbol of India's national consciousness.
On Wednesday, the Congress Working Committee also decided that only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events, citing the party's own 1937 resolution.
The decision followed days of controversy after the BJP accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi of conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15, and demanded a public apology.
After the CWC meeting, Congress MP KC Venugopal said the party's stand 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. (ANI)
Vande mataram row: "Sonia Gandhi signalled to stop Vande Mataram after two stanzas," alleges BJP MP Sambit Patra
