Vande Mataram row: Amit Shah attacks Sonia Gandhi, Congress hits back, cases filed
The development came days after Parliament passed a bill that makes any insult to the national song a punishable offence. | India News
The development came days after Parliament passed a bill that makes any insult to the national song a punishable offence.
The controversy surrounding Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s alleged objection to the singing of the entire Vande Mataram song during the party’s Independence day celebrations snowballed into a full-blown political feud on Sunday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staging protests across the country and registering complaints against the senior opposition leader.
The Congress has denied the allegation that attempts were made by Sonia to stop the singing of the full version of the national song at the AICC headquarters on Saturday. The party said Sonia was only asking for a chair for Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as he was standing for a while.
The development came days after Parliament passed a bill that makes any insult to the national song a punishable offence. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on July 30, a day after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha. The law grants status to Vande Mataram on par with national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
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The controversy broke out on Saturday when BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh shared a video of the Congress’s event on X. "Mother, son and national president (of the Congress) seem to be upset by the rendering of full Vande Mataram,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
On Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah said the Vande Mataram song was sung at the Red Fort and all other places where flag hoisting was held after 80 years of Independence.
"Thousands of people faced bullets and lathis and were jailed for singing Vande Mataram," he said, referring to the use of the revolutionary slogan during the freedom struggle. "We all saw it on television. Sonia ji, 140 crore (people) are watching you. The people of the country will never forgive you for your sin... If there is any shame left, you should fold your hands and apologise to Bankim Babu's immortal spirit and the people," he added.
The Vande Mataram song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Also Read | Complaint filed against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi over disrespect to Vande Mataram
Shah was addressing a public event at Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, when he made the remarks. He alleged the Congress had forgotten 'Vande Mataram' due to vote-bank politics.
At a press conference in the national capital, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said the alleged opposition to the Vande Mataram song pointed towards a mindset of a "dimagi Naxal ecosystem".
"Can any patriot, can any Indian who believes in the Constitution of India, respects the Tricolour of India, respects India's freedom fighters and believes in India's sovereignty and integrity, ever get angry at the invocation of Vande Mataram on Independence Day?" he said.
He also said the Congress government in Kerala crossed all limits by completely removing Vande Mataram from the Independence Day celebrations.
Bankim Chandra’s descendant joins protest
BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, a fifth-generation direct descendant of Bankim Chandra, sought an “unconditional apology” from Sonia.
In a letter to the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson, the MLA from Naihati in West Bengal said the incident had deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of the eastern state, and appealed to her to introspect.
Also Read | ‘Shameless repetition’: Bankim Chattopadhyay’s descendant seeks Sonia Gandhi’s apology over Vande Mataram row
West Bengal CM attacks Congress
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also said the incident had deeply offended the people of the state, where Bankim Chandra is revered as "Sahitya Samrat".
"Yesterday was Independence Day. During the event at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, when Vande Mataram was being sung, Sonia Gandhi expressed her displeasure at singing the full version. The entire country witnessed this on live telecast," Adhikari told reporters in Kolkata.
He accused the Congress leadership of trying to explain away the episode and said video footage would establish what happened. "As Chief Minister, I feel that insulting Vande Mataram is an insult to Bankim Chandra himself. I strongly condemn this," he said.
Also Read | 'Entire Bengal fuming, Congress must apologise': CM Suvendu Adhikari slams Sonia Gandhi over Vande Mataram row
