Gandhinagar, September 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress MLA Imran Khedawala on Wednesday said he had stood and respectfully participated in the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly but chose to sit when additional stanzas were sung, triggering a political row with the BJP.
Khedawala was responding to criticism from Gujarat Forest and Environment Minister Pravin Mali, who accused the Congress MLA of insulting the national song after he was seen sitting during its rendition at the beginning of the three-day Monsoon session of the Assembly.
Speaking to IANS, Khedawala said he had stood throughout the traditional rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ and sung it respectfully. He said he sat down only when an “extra stanza” was being sung, which he opposed as an addition introduced by the BJP.
“I stood when Vande Mataram was being sung. I stood through all the stanzas of Vande Mataram that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, B.R. Ambedkar and Rabindranath Tagore used to sing, and I sang it respectfully,” Khedawala said.
He said his decision to sit during the additional portion was based on his personal beliefs and ideological association with the Congress. He also referred to criticism previously expressed by Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, over what he described as the BJP’s approach to the rendition.
Minister Mali had demanded that the Congress clarify whether Khedawala’s conduct was an individual decision or represented the party’s position. He said the Assembly traditionally begins its proceedings with ‘Vande Mataram’ and termed the MLA’s conduct an insult to the national song and the constitutional system.
Mali also said he would approach Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary with a complaint and seek action in accordance with constitutional procedure.
Rejecting the BJP’s demand for an apology, Khedawala accused the state government of focusing on the controversy instead of addressing issues affecting people in Gujarat.
“The BJP is talking about an apology, but today farmers are troubled, young people are unemployed, atrocities are being committed against women, inflation is rising, there are no doctors in hospitals and schools do not have teachers,” he said.
Khedawala alleged that the Gujarat government was avoiding discussion on these issues and was instead focusing on the ‘Vande Mataram’ controversy.
The dispute began on the first day of the Gujarat Assembly’s three-day Monsoon session, when ‘Vande Mataram’ was rendered at the start of proceedings. The issue has since escalated into a political confrontation between the BJP government and Congress over the rendition of the national song and the significance attached to its different stanzas.
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