Bengaluru, Aug 20: A political dispute over how much of Vande Mataram should be sung at official and public events has intensified in Karnataka, with the Congress defending the Congress Working Committee’s decision to retain only the first two stanzas and the BJP accusing the party of disrespecting India’s culture and the freedom movement.
Karnataka Congress president B.K. Hariprasad said on Thursday that the party would continue to sing only two stanzas of the song, rejecting criticism from the BJP over the CWC decision. He also challenged BJP leaders who question the Congress position to sing the National Anthem at RSS shakhas if they considered themselves patriotic.
“Whatever they do, we will sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. Let them jail us or hang us, we are ready. We are not cowards like the BJP,” Hariprasad said.
Defending the Congress position, Hariprasad said Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram originally consisted of two stanzas when it was written in 1875. He accused the BJP of politicising the song and rejected the suggestion that the Congress position was linked to appeasement.
Hariprasad also questioned BJP leaders over their reported admiration for actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. He asked whether those leaders would accept one of her songs as the National Anthem if Parliament were to describe it as such.
The BJP rejected the Congress argument and accused the party of distancing itself from patriotism and Indian cultural traditions.
Karnataka Assembly Deputy Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad said the CWC’s decision showed, in his view, that there was no connection between the Congress and patriotism.
“Congress has not shown respect for the culture of this land. There is no connection between the Congress party and patriotism,” Bellad alleged.
Bellad said Vande Mataram had inspired young people and freedom fighters during India’s freedom struggle. He accused the Congress of disregarding its own historical legacy by opposing the singing of the song beyond the first two stanzas.
He further alleged that Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and members of the CWC, were demonstrating a lack of concern for India and its culture by refusing to sing the song in its entirety.
Bellad also linked the Congress position to the party’s electoral fortunes, claiming that its approach to national and cultural issues had contributed to voters rejecting it in the past.
The dispute comes amid a wider political debate over the place of Vande Mataram at public and official events. Both parties have sought to position their arguments around patriotism, nationalism and the historical significance of the song during India’s freedom struggle.
While the Congress has maintained that it will continue with the first two stanzas, the BJP has framed the decision as an issue of respect for the country’s cultural heritage and national movement, deepening the political contest over the song in Karnataka.
