BJP demands apology from Congress over alleged disrespect to Vande Mataram

The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an apology from Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, accusing them of showing “utter disrespect” to the National Song, Vande Mataram, during the party’s Independence Day event on August 15.

The controversy has intensified days after Parliament passed a new law granting Vande Mataram legal protection on par with the National Anthem. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that the three senior Congress leaders were not attentive while Vande Mataram was being sung at the party headquarters and were seen talking among themselves, claiming this showed the Congress had not accepted the full version of the song.

BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh shared video footage of the event on X and alleged that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge appeared “upset” during the rendition of the full song, while another BJP spokesperson, Gopal Krishna Agarwal, alleged that Sonia Gandhi objected to the rendition and questioned Congress workers about why it was being played.

Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi of attempting to stop the full rendition for “vote-bank and appeasement politics”, and RP Singh questioned Sonia Gandhi’s attitude towards Vande Mataram.

The Congress rejected the allegations, with general secretary Jairam Ramesh saying the party has been following a 1937 Congress Working Committee decision, taken on Rabindranath Tagore’s advice, to sing only the initial stanzas of Vande Mataram at Congress sessions. Ramesh clarified that the full version was sung at the Congress headquarters on Saturday and there was no controversy over it, denying that Sonia Gandhi tried to stop the rendition and explaining that she was asking for a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a long time.

The row comes shortly after Parliament passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which the Lok Sabha passed by voice vote on July 30, a day after its approval by the Rajya Sabha, making insult to the National Song a punishable offence and granting Vande Mataram a status on par with the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.