It seems the controversy over 'Vande Mataram' is unlikely to end anytime soon, as the Congress has decided that it will sing only the first two stanzas of the national song at future party events. The decision was taken following a four-hour-long meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in New Delhi on Wednesday.
However, the Congress decision was strongly criticised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with its national president Nitin Nabin accusing the grand old party of becoming the "new Muslim League" for votes. In a post in Hindi on X early Thursday, Nabin accused the Congress of insulting 'Bharat Ma', which he said is a part of its policy.
"This insult to the sacred invocation of 'Bharat Mata' is a disdain for those thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation, keeping this very song in their consciousness," the Rajya Sabha member said. "The Congress has now formalised its insult (to Vande Mataram) into a resolution. Its working committee has decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at Congress forums."
"The Congress has now become the new Muslim League today... Today, that very insult has become the Congress's policy. This is not merely a political defence, but proof of the hunger for that vote bank at the altar of which the Congress has repeatedly mortgaged the nation's self-respect," he added.
The debate around 'Vande Mataram'
The BJP-led central government has made it mandatory that the complete version of 'Vande Mataram' will be sung at all official functions, a move that the Congress has criticised. The Congress has alleged that the BJP has made the singing of the national song a political issue, reiterating that it would only sing its first two stanzas.
The debate was reignited on August 15 after a video from the Congress headquarters showing the complete version of 'Vande Mataram' being sung went viral. However, the BJP alleged that Rajya Sabha member Sonia Gandhi tried to stop the complete version from being played during the event, even as the Congress clarified that the CPP chairperson was only asking for a chair for party national president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Since then, the two sides have made allegations and counter-allegations, accusing each other of politicising the issue. Coming to 'Vande Mataram', composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, it was first published in the literary journal 'Bangadarshan' on November 7, 1875.
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