New Delhi, August 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The controversy surrounding Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s actions during the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ intensified on Sunday, with the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and DMK defending her, while CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby sought clarification from the Congress leadership over its position on the national song.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the BJP of deliberately creating a controversy around ‘Vande Mataram’ and the national flag.
“The BJP has now been surrounded from all sides and is losing popularity, so now it is creating a forced controversy over the national song and the national flag,” Tiwari said in a video statement.
Tiwari said that after the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ in the Rajya Sabha on the final day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Sonia Gandhi had praised Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju during a subsequent courtesy interaction.
According to Tiwari, Gandhi had observed that Rijiju’s lips were continuously moving in sync with the song and described it as commendable. He said the BJP could verify the account with Rijiju himself.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had also defended Gandhi a day earlier, rejecting suggestions that she had attempted to stop the song.
“There was no attempt to stop it. Because the Congress President (Mallikarjun Kharge) had been standing for a long time, Sonia Gandhi was saying, ‘Bring a chair for him and place it there’,” Ramesh said.
TMC, DMK defend Sonia
TMC MP Kirti Azad said Gandhi was being “unnecessarily targeted” and challenged BJP MPs to sing all six verses of ‘Vande Mataram’.
“I can’t do that. I am being very honest. I can’t do that. But does that make me less nationalist?” Azad said, questioning whether inability to sing the complete song could be equated with a lack of patriotism.
DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan also rejected the allegation against Gandhi, saying it was not possible to conclude that she had asked anyone to stop the national song.
“How can we say Sonia Gandhi asked to stop the national song? She might have signalled for something else,” Elangovan said, accusing the BJP of routinely finding fault with its political opponents.
CPI-M asks Congress to clarify position
CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby, however, said there was “some confusion” regarding the Congress’s position on the rendition of the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’, particularly because three Congress chief ministers are currently in office.
Baby said that during a flag-hoisting programme attended by Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, only the National Anthem was played, according to his information, while the full-length ‘Vande Mataram’ was played in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, all governed by Congress chief ministers.
“During the flag hoisting function attended by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in Kerala, my information is that only the National Anthem was played. Vande Mataram was not played at all. In the case of three other Congress Chief Minister-led governments, Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the full-length song Vande Mataram was played,” Baby told IANS.
He said the Congress leadership should explain its position on the recitation of ‘Vande Mataram’ to clear the confusion.
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