Congress Objects To Full Recital of Vande Mataram at J&K Conference; Abdullahs Stand Firm
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A political row over the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at an international film festival in Srinagar has widened into a confrontation between Congress and its ally, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), with the BJP accusing the opposition party of pandering to fundamentalist forces.
The dispute erupted after the full version of the national song was sung at an event attended by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah on Monday.
Congress Objects To Full Version Of Vande Mataram
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation KC Venugopal took exception to the full version being performed at the event and urged alliance partners to support the party's position on singing only the adopted version.
Sharing a video of the performance on X, Venugopal said the full version did not fit with what he described as India's "syncretic and pluralist ethos".
He cited the views of several freedom fighters and national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Acharya Narendra Dev, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu and J B Kripalani, along with Rabindranath Tagore's influence on the debate.
Venugopal urged Congress allies to follow what he called the considered judgment of the freedom fighters and support the version of the song adopted by the party.
National Conference Hits Back At Congress
The Congress position drew a sharp response from the National Conference, which rejected any suggestion that its alliance partner could dictate how much of the song should be sung.
NC leader Bashir Ahmed said Congress had the right to express its position but could not impose it on alliance partners.
"As alliance partner you can't dictate terms whether to sing or how much to sing," Ahmed said, adding that the party was opposed to imposing anything on people.
The disagreement has exposed another fault line within the INDIA alliance over an issue carrying both historical and political significance.
Congress Accuses NC Of Following RSS Line
Congress subsequently escalated its criticism of the NC.
Congress leader Kapil Singh said Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah were part of the INDIA alliance and should respect the Congress position rather than what he described as the "Nagpur" line, referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The remarks further intensified the disagreement between the two alliance partners.
BJP Calls Congress ‘Muslim League’ Of 21st Century
The BJP seized on the controversy to attack Congress.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Congress' objection to the full version of Vande Mataram showed that the party had become the "new Muslim League of the 21st century".
Trivedi claimed Congress had become isolated over the issue and accused the party of surrendering to fundamentalist forces.
BJP leader RS Pathania also criticised Congress, saying that even separatists in the Kashmir Valley had not objected to the national song.
Congress CWC Had Decided On Two Stanzas
The latest controversy follows a decision taken by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) last month.
The party decided to adhere to a 1937 resolution of its highest decision-making body under which only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung at Congress events.
The decision came after the BJP repeatedly accused Congress leaders of disrespecting the national song by not singing its full version at party programmes.
Centre Mandates Full Vande Mataram At Official Events
The dispute also comes against the backdrop of the Union Government's decision earlier this year mandating that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be played before Jana Gana Mana at government events, schools and official ceremonies.
The contrasting positions of the BJP-led government and Congress have since turned the national song into a fresh political flashpoint, with the issue now also creating friction between Congress and one of its key alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir.
