New Delhi, August 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
As the controversy over the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ intensifies, the Congress on Thursday defended its longstanding practice of singing only the first two stanzas of the national song at party programmes, invoking the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore.
Congress leaders maintained that the party’s position is rooted in an organisational decision taken during the freedom struggle and is not a recent political development. They also alleged that Congress workers continued to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ despite facing persecution under British rule.
The remarks came a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolved to continue following the tradition established through a 1937 CWC decision, under which only the first two stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ are recited at Congress events. The decision has gained significance amid the Centre’s recent move to make the complete rendition of the national song part of official protocol.
Congress MP Jebi Mather said the party’s position was established after discussions among prominent leaders during the freedom struggle.
“The Congress’ stand on Vande Mataram is not something that has emerged today, yesterday or the day before. It dates back to the 1937 Kolkata session, when great leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore came together, discussed the matter and the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution that the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung,” Mather told IANS.
“That decision continues today and will continue forever,” she added.
Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput also defended the party’s association with the national song, saying it had been an integral part of the freedom movement.
“We have been singing ‘Vande Mataram’ from the beginning. During the freedom movement, when we used to sing ‘Vande Mataram’, these sycophants of the British — the Jana Sangh people, the Sangh people — used to inform the British that such-and-such freedom fighter was singing ‘Vande Mataram’, and the British used to whip us on our backs,” Rajput alleged.
He said the Congress continued to sing the song despite such persecution and invoked Gandhi, Netaji and Tagore while defending the party’s position.
Revolutionary Socialist Party MP N.K. Premachandran said the Congress and INDIA bloc had a clear position that the national song should unite people rather than become a source of division.
The Congress defence came amid sharp criticism from the BJP, which has accused the party of disrespecting the national song by limiting its rendition to two stanzas.
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