Congress backs two-stanza Vande Mataram; launches campaign against Ram temple funds row

Congress to expand student outreach to 800 cities; Rahul seeks report on education reforms from Congress Chief Ministers, says will stand by students; Punjab infighting shadows meet as Channi stays away

Updated - August 20, 2026 05:04 am IST - New Delhi

AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, party leader Ambika Soni and others during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Indira Bhawan, in New Delhi on August 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) decided to expand its student outreach programme, Chhatron Ki Goonj, to around 800 cities and towns, while announcing a nationwide campaign over the alleged theft of donations, which it calls “chanda chori”, at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“This is not a theft at Ram Mandir alone but ghar ghar chori (stealing from every household),” All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal said at a media briefing after a marathon four-hour meeting.

Taking a leaf out of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) playbook, Mr. Venugopal argued that since “almost every believer donated towards Ram Mandir’s construction, it is like stealing from every home”.

Mr. Gandhi, who would be addressing many of the interaction programmes with students, asked Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States to prepare a report on reforms needed in their education systems and submit it to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge within a month.

TheHindu has learnt that Mr. Gandhi, in the closed-door interaction, chided his colleagues for not meeting enough students or going to Jantar Mantar to express solidarity during the NEET paper leak protests. “I have met more students than any of you,” he is learnt to have said. He said a straw poll conducted by the Congress’s student and youth wings showed that a majority of students backed the Congress and its leadership for change.

Mr. Gandhi made it clear that he would stand with the students, “come what may”.

Mr. Kharge, in his opening remarks, accused the Narendra Modi government of “destroying” the future of students and called for a comprehensive “Education-to-Employment Roadmap” for the youth.

The infighting in the Punjab Congress, though, left an imprint, with former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a CWC member, skipping the meeting.

The CWC reiterated its demand for a Supreme Court-monitored probe and an audit of the Ram Temple trust’s accounts. It asserted that the Lok Sabha’s strength should remain frozen at 543 seats, with the existing State-wise allocation retained for 25 years, and that one-third women’s reservation should be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress Working Committee met in Kolkata Oct 26-Nov 1 1937. Those present included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, J.B. Kripalani, Bhulabhai Desai, Jamnalal Bajaj, Narendra… pic.twitter.com/bJb899UhQz— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 9, 2025

It reaffirmed that Congress functions would feature only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, in line with the 1937 AICC resolution. It demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the “purification ritual” at the Haldwani ground where Mr. Kharge had addressed a rally.

The resolution flagged reports of Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and questioned the government’s silence, besides raising concerns over E20 petrol’s mileage, compatibility and loss of consumer choice.

The CWC resolution said the youth were facing “disappointment and betrayal” under the Modi government, citing paper leaks, unemployment and alleged repression of student movements. “Over the past decade, paper leaks have assumed epidemic proportions, with at least 152 cases of paper leaks reported since 2014,” the resolution said.

The CWC condemned what it called “arbitrary and brutal repression” of student movements, alleging the use of tear gas, pellet guns and electric shock batons and accusing the Prime Minister and Home Minister of avoiding Parliament on the issue.

Mr. Gandhi said the protests have rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described the government’s response as a sign of weakness. “Prime Minister is on his knees and the people who put him there are looking for his replacement,” he learnt to have said. He said Mr. Modi’s Independence Day speech looked like it came “from a man who has been psychologically defeated”.