BJP Accuses Sonia Gandhi of Trying to Stop Vande Mataram, Congress Denies

New Delhi: A political controversy erupted on Saturday at the Congress party's Independence Day event, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing senior leader Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the full rendition of the national song, Vande Mataram. The Congress dismissed the allegation, asserting that Gandhi was merely asking for a chair for party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

The event, held at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, saw the party's top leadership including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge present. According to the BJP, the leaders showed disrespect during the singing of Vande Mataram.

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, addressing the media, said, "Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve and in tune with the sentiments of crores of Indians, this is the first Independence Day where Vande Mataram has been sung in its entirety." He alleged that while the song was being played at the Congress office, the party's "supreme leader" Sonia Gandhi, "super-president" Rahul Gandhi, and current president Mallikarjun Kharge were seen conversing and beckoning someone in a manner that was "highly peculiar, objectionable, and disrespectful." Trivedi added that this indicates the Congress has still not accepted the national song.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya went further, claiming on social media platform X that after the initial stanzas were sung, Sonia Gandhi became agitated and asked for the rendition to be stopped. "Rahul Gandhi too appeared to signal that it should end. They were told to let it continue," Malviya wrote, asserting that "the complete National Song is now to be respected under the new legal framework." He alleged that the Gandhis' discomfort with a "culturally confident, civilisationally rooted India" stood exposed on Independence Day.

The Congress, however, strongly refuted these claims. In a statement, the party maintained that the full version of Vande Mataram was indeed sung at the event. While confirming the incident, the Congress explained that Sonia Gandhi was only asking for a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a while during the function.

The controversy also rekindled debate over the stanzas of Vande Mataram. Written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875, the song was adopted as the National Song in 1937, but only the first two stanzas were officially recognized. The remaining four stanzas, which contain references to Hindu goddesses, were omitted at the time due to concerns from some Muslim community members who found the references exclusionary.

In recent years, the BJP has accused the Congress of being "divisive" for supporting the omission. In February, the central government mandated the singing of Vande Mataram in its entirety at public gatherings, schools, and official government functions. Last month, Parliament passed a Bill, subsequently signed by the President, making intentional obstruction, disruption, or prevention of the singing of Vande Mataram a criminal offence.

This incident highlights the ongoing political friction over national symbols and their interpretation. While the BJP frames the full rendition as a matter of national pride and respect, the Congress has consistently argued that its actions were misrepresented and that it holds the national song in high regard.

As of now, no formal complaint has been filed, and the exchange remains a war of words between the two major national parties.