Chittorgarh, August 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused the Congress of disrespecting the national song Vande Mataram during its Independence Day celebrations and demanded an apology from the party.
Addressing a gathering in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, Shah criticised Congress leaders for allegedly continuing to interact while Vande Mataram was being played at the party headquarters on August 15.
The BJP has alleged that Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi objected to the full version of the national song and gestured to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to stop it. Congress has been targeted by the BJP over the incident.
Shah said Vande Mataram held deep significance in India’s freedom struggle, recalling that freedom fighters had faced imprisonment, lathis, bullets and the gallows while invoking the song.
“Congress forgot Vande Mataram… Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s immortal creation — those two words of the song, Vande Mataram, meaning ‘I bow to thee, Mother India’ — while chanting these words, thousands and lakhs of freedom fighters went to the gallows, faced bullets and lathis, and spent years in prison. However, for its vote bank politics, Congress forgot the Vande Mataram,” Shah said.
Referring to the alleged incident at the Congress headquarters, he said, “The people of this country will never forgive this sin you have committed.”
Shah said the Congress should be “ashamed” of the incident and called on the party to apologise if it had any respect for the national song and the people.
“How could anyone even think of leaving the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ incomplete? If there is even a shred of shame left, one should fold one’s hands and apologise to the immortal soul of Bankim Babu and to the people,” he said.
Shah made the remarks during an event in Chittorgarh district where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various development projects.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma welcomed the Home Minister at the event by presenting him with a traditional turban. Shah also unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary.
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