New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused the Congress leadership of showing “utter disrespect” to the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ during the party’s Independence Day celebrations, after a video showed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Sonia Gandhi interacting while the song was being played.
The BJP demanded an apology and clarification from the Congress over the incident. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, however, said there was no attempt to stop the rendition and offered an explanation for the interaction.
The controversy followed the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, where Kharge and Sonia Gandhi were seen speaking and gesturing to each other while ‘Vande Mataram’ was being played. They subsequently called a party member and appeared to give him instructions.
Addressing reporters, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said this year’s Independence Day marked the first occasion when ‘Vande Mataram’ had been sung in its full, uninterrupted form.
He highlighted the historical significance of the song, noting that the first Constituent Assembly of independent India began its proceedings on the intervening night of August 14 and 15, 1947, with a rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’, as the Constitution had not yet adopted a national anthem.
Trivedi accused the Congress leadership of failing to show due respect during the rendition.
“At this time we have seen a very ugly moment when at the head office of the Congress, it was seen that their supreme leader Sonia Gandhi, their super President Rahul Gandhi and sitting President Mallikarjun Kharge ji were not attentive while the national song was being sung and rather they were casually talking to each other, passing remarks and even calling someone,” he said.
“This shows the utter disrespect by Congress party towards the national song Vande Mataram,” Trivedi added.
He further alleged that the incident indicated that the Congress had not accepted the complete version of the national song and demanded an apology from its senior leadership.
“If the Congress does not issue an apology, it will reflect their true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, their dedication to the nation,” Trivedi said, adding that the party’s respect for the freedom struggle was also “under suspicion”.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also criticised the Congress over the incident. Speaking to IANS, he alleged that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had attempted to stop the rendition and used the incident to launch a broader political attack on the Congress.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh rejected the allegation that there had been any attempt to interrupt the song.
“There was no attempt to stop it because the Congress President had been standing for a long time,” Ramesh said, explaining that Sonia Gandhi had asked for a chair to be brought for Kharge.
The exchange has since triggered a political controversy on Independence Day, with the BJP and Congress offering sharply different interpretations of the interaction captured in the video.
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