Srinagar, Sep 9 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Tariq Hameed Karra stoked a controversy on Wednesday after he criticised alliance partner National Conference over the singing of full national song at the inauguration of the International Film Festival here.
In a post on X, Karra said the national symbols, songs and traditions occupy a special place in the heart of every Indian and their true strength lies in their ability to bind together a nation as diverse as India.
“It is therefore a matter of concern that our alliance partners chose to sing the full version of Vande Mataram, disregarding the considered evolution of the song’s place in India’s national life — not merely during the freedom movement, but through the constitutional journey of the Republic thereafter,” Karra said.
He said the version adopted after Independence represented a conscious balance preserving the historic and emotional significance while remaining sensitive to India’s plural ethos and the constitutional guarantee of the Freedom of Conscience.
“National symbols acquire greater dignity when they accommodate India’s diversity, not when that diversity is asked to accommodate them,” he said.
The PCC chief said the issue was not about patriotism but constitutional temperament.
“It is about the constitutional temperament with which patriotism in a diverse Republic deserves to be expressed. Our national symbols should make every Indian feel equally at home,” he added.
National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq was quick to respond and pointed out that the full version of the national song was played in Congress-ruled Karnataka in the presence of Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
Sharing a video featuring the rendition of the national song in the presence of Shivakumar, Sadiq posted on X, “Jenab @TariqKarra Sb, please take a look at your congress CM’s and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you! (sic)” In January 2026, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued comprehensive guidelines establishing a strict protocol for the singing of the national song. The new rules dictate that all six stanzas of the national song should be played or sung at official events.
Strongly opposing the mandate, the Congress had maintained that only the first two stanzas would be sung at party gatherings. PTI MIJ RUK RUK
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