Breaking: Vande Mataram Row Escalates as Amit Shah Attacks Congress Over Two-Verse Decision

The political battle over Vande Mataram has intensified after the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two verses of the national song will be sung at party programmes. Congress has described the song as an emotional issue, while the BJP has accused the opposition party of pursuing appeasement politics. Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly criticised the Congress decision, alleging that the party was following its 1937 resolution and repeating what he described as a historical mistake. Shah claimed that the decision taken in 1937 to restrict the song was linked to efforts to accommodate Muslim opinion and alleged that it contributed to the circumstances surrounding Partition. He further said that the Narendra Modi government had corrected that position and given the national song a legal framework. The BJP has announced plans to raise the issue before the public and in legislative forums. BJP president Nitin Nabin also accused the Congress of disrespecting Vande Mataram and alleged that the party had now converted the controversy into an official policy. The dispute gained further momentum after a video from the Congress headquarters on Independence Day appeared to show Sonia Gandhi signalling during the singing of the song. Congress leaders disputed the BJP's interpretation of the incident. The party has maintained that its position follows the 1937 Congress Working Committee decision, citing concerns over the religious references in later verses. Congress leaders have hit back at the BJP, invoking historical figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhas Chandra Bose. With both sides taking sharply opposing positions, the Vande Mataram controversy has emerged as a major political flashpoint, bringing history, nationalism, secularism and electoral politics into the centre of the debate.