New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed a resolution defending the honour, dignity and historical legacy of the national song Vande Mataram, the party stated that it won’t allow “renewed efforts of the Congress to sow seeds of partition” by obstructing its full rendition.
The resolution was passed during the first meeting of BJP’s new national office-bearers at party headquarters in which it condemned the Congress Working Committee’s (CWC) decision to continue restricting its rendition at party programmes to only the first two stanzas.
Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Sambit Patra underlined that it was the first time that all six stanzas of the national song were rendered during the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort while referring to the senior Congress leaders conduct during the rendition of Vande Mataram at party headquarters, as an “evil act”.
“The kind of panic among the Congress leaders during the rendition of Vande Mataram came across as if some cuss words were being used,” he remarked.
He also said that following the reactions to the incident across the country, the Congress went into “damage control mode” with its leaders defending Sonia Gandhi that she didn’t ask to stop the national song and was instead asking a chair for party President Mallikarjun Kharge.
He highlighted that Vande Mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chhattopadyaya “to prevent the partition of Bengal.”
“Despite the then British government’s attempts to stop the rendition, Vande Mataram was sung at Barisal, after which Madam Bhikaiji Cama waved a flag with ‘Vande Mataram’ written on it,” he said.
Drawing a parallel of the Congress’ stand on the national song to that of the British, the BJP leader said: “Similar to the then British government, the Congress is stopping the rendition of Vande Mataram today.”
“At Congress conference in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, in 1923, Pandit Vishnu Digambarji was about to sing the full version of Vande Matram but was stopped by then Congress President Maulana Muhammad Ali who threatened a walkout against the rendition of the national song’s full version,” he said.
He added: “Subsequently, in 1937, Vande Mataram was broken on the orders of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. As a result, Nehru ji had accepted Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s demand regarding the song’s rendition, as written in a letter by him.”
“This seed of appeasement which was sown by Pandit Nehru in 1937, was the seed of partition,” Patra alleged.
He stated that BJP chief Nitin Nabin clearly said during the party’s first meeting of new office bearers that “The renewed attempt to sow the seeds of partition by Congress, won’t be allowed by us.”
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s stand on the national song, Patra highlighted his statement ‘Unfortunately we have fallen on evil days…that (six stanzas) was all pure gold before, has become base metal today’, saying “This is what Mahatma Gandhi said…the Congress is intentionally promoting appeasement politics.”
He reiterated that the BJP won’t allow “the renewed effort of the Congress to push for a two nation theory”.
Referring to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, the BJP leader said: “No one will be forced to sing the national song but whoever obstructs its rendition will be punished.”
“The country will run on the rules of the Parliament or the CWC?” he questioned while accusing Congress leaders of boycotting debates on the Vande Matram Bill in the House.
Patra added: “As Mahatma Gandhi had said, this is a song to unite the country, not create divisions between the Hindus and Muslims.”
–IANS
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