New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) The BJP on Sunday hit out at the Congress, alleging that its top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge showed “utter disrespect” towards the National Song Vande Mataram when it was being sung at the party’s Independence Day event, and demanded an apology from them.
Several leaders of the ruling BJP also accused Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at the event, a charge that the Congress denied, asserting that there was no attempt to stop the singing of the full version of the National Song and she was only asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge as he was standing for a while.
Slamming the Congress, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “It was seen that their supreme leader Sonia Gandhi, super leader Rahul Gandhi and sitting president Mallikarjun Kharge were not attentive when the National Song was being sung.” “Rather, they were casually talking to each other and even calling someone. This shows their utter disrespect towards the National Song Vande Mataram. It was a historic occasion, but a very ugly moment was seen at the Congress party’s head office,” the BJP Rajya Sabha MP told reporters here.
This shows that the Congress has not yet accepted the full version of Vande Mataram, he said.
“We strongly condemn this deplorable act of the top leadership of the Congress party,” the BJP leader said.
Trivedi demanded an “apology and a clarification” from the Congress and its leadership, saying people of the country are hurt by their “objectionable and deplorable act”.
“If they do not do so, their faith and allegiance to the Constitution as well as dedication to the nation and their respect towards the freedom struggle will come under suspicion,” the BJP leader added.
Sharing video footage of the Congress’ event on X, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh said, “Mother, son and national president (of the Congress) seem to be upset by the rendering of full Vande Mataram.” Certain mindsets never change from pre-1947 to post-1947, the senior BJP leader charged.
BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said, “The scene that has come to light today on Independence Day is utterly shameful. Sonia Gandhi’s objection during the rendition of India’s National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ and her questioning of Congress workers as to why it was being played, exposes the Congress party’s mindset.” He alleged that the Congress’ attitude towards Vande Mataram reminds people of the party’s “Emergency mindset”.
“The people of the country have rejected this mindset and will continue to reject it,” he said.
Asked about the row, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “On October 28, 1937, in Calcutta, a meeting of the Congress Working Committee was held in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Govind Ballabh Pant and C Rajagopalachari, and on the advice of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, they decided that the initial stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung at the Congress sessions.” Tagore advised Nehru and Bose that the first few paragraphs of Vande Mataram should be used, he said.
“We have been singing those lines in every session since then; our Seva Dal sings it, our workers sing it, there is no controversy over that,” Ramesh said.
He asserted that the full version of the National Song was sung on Saturday.
“This was discussed in Parliament for 16 hours. We put forward our views.
“I narrated the whole history around it which the prime minister and the home minister did not know. I informed the MPs of the context in which the Vande Mataram decision was taken,” Ramesh said.
“But today, at Indira Bhawan, the full version was sung, there is no question of a controversy over it,” he added.
Asked about the allegation levelled by BJP leaders, Ramesh categorically denied that there was an attempt to stop the singing of the song’s full version.
“As the Congress president was standing for a long time, Soniaji was asking for a chair for him,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi attempted to stop the rendition of the full version of Vande Mataram for vote-bank and appeasement politics.
“Congress is suffering from ‘Dimagi Naxal mindset’,” he said in a post on X.
Bhandari also slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for skipping the official Independence Day event at Red Fort, saying this reflects his “deep hatred” against the Constitution of India and everything “which is patriotic”.
“That’s why the Congress opposes Vande Mataram. People of the country are saying that Congress is no longer Indian National Congress. The Congress has become ‘Dimagi Naxal Congress’ today,” the BJP spokesperson told PTI Videos.
Taking a dig at Sonia Gandhi, BJP spokesperson R P Singh asked, “Why does Antonio Maino Ji hate Vande Mataram so much? When Vande Mataram was being sung, Antonio Maino Ji allegedly got agitated and asked her party workers to stop it. Why such hatred for Vande Mataram?” Last month, Parliament passed a bill that makes any insult to the national song a punishable offence. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on July 30, a day after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.
The law grants status to Vande Mataram on par with the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana. PTI PK ASK KSS KSS KSS
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