NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Congress over a controversy surrounding the rendition of Vande Mataram at the party’s Independence Day event, accusing it of insulting the national song and alleging that the incident was driven by “vote-bank” politics.Addressing a rally in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Shah alleged that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had asked party workers to stop the rendition while it was being sung at the Congress headquarters on Saturday.“Look at their (Congress’s) shamelessness. The anthem Vande Mataram was being sung at the Congress Party headquarters. During the anthem, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi told the Congress President to stop singing. We all just kept watching on TV,” Shah said.He directly addressed Sonia Gandhi, saying, “Sonia ji, 140 crore people are watching you. This sin you have committed will never be forgiven by the people of this country.”“How can anyone even dream of leaving the anthem Vande Mataram incomplete? The people of Congress should feel ashamed,” he added.Shah also accused the Congress of having “forgotten Vande Mataram out of greed for vote banks” and said the party should apologise to the people for allegedly insulting the national song.
Congress denies BJP’s allegation
The controversy erupted on Saturday after the BJP shared video footage from the Congress’s Independence Day programme at Indira Bhawan and alleged that Sonia Gandhi had objected while Vande Mataram was being played.The Congress rejected the allegation and maintained that the full version of Vande Mataram was sung at the event.Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party’s position on the song was rooted in its history and cited a 1937 meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Calcutta, attended by leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Jawaharlal Nehru.Ramesh said the CWC had decided, following advice from Rabindranath Tagore, that the opening stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung at Congress sessions.He also rejected the claim that Sonia Gandhi had sought to stop the song. According to Ramesh, she was asking party workers to arrange a chair for Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had been standing for some time.
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“The full version was sung at Saturday’s event, there is no question of a controversy over it,” Ramesh said.The BJP has continued to target the Congress over the incident, with party leaders accusing it of showing disrespect towards Vande Mataram.The row comes shortly after Parliament passed legislation dealing with disrespect towards the national song.The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was cleared by the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in July and accords Vande Mataram a status on par with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.Shah’s remarks came after he attended an event in Chittorgarh with Rajasthan chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma, where they unveiled a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary.
