‘Are they all anti-national now?’: Priyank Kharge hits back at BJP over Vande Mataram row

BENGALURU: Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday hit back at BJP and RSS, questioning whether freedom stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Rabindranath Tagore would also be branded “anti-national” today for adopting only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram.

In a post on X, he accused the ruling party at the Centre of weaponising national symbols to manufacture diversionary politics and mask internal governance failures. “In 1937, Gandhiji, Patelji, Nehruji, Netaji Bose and Tagore deliberated on which portions of Vande Mataram should be sung publicly and why. So, are they all ‘anti-national’ now?” he questioned.

The sharp response follows a political row ignited by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused Congress leaders, including Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi, of disrespecting the National Song by rendering an “incomplete” version during recent party events in Delhi and Goa.

Kharge challenged the ideological core of the ruling party; Kharge demanded that if the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were genuinely committed to Vande Mataram, they should lead by example. He challenged the RSS to replace its daily prayer, Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume, with Vande Mataram at its daily shakhas.

“If the BJP/RSS is suddenly so concerned about Vande Mataram, let it begin with its own shakhas. Drop “Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume” and sing Vande Mataram instead,” he added.

In 1937, Gandhiji, Patelji, Nehruji, Netaji Bose and Tagore deliberated on which portions of Vande Mataram should be sung publicly and why.

So, are they all “anti-national” now?

If the BJP/RSS is suddenly so concerned about Vande Mataram, let it begin with its own shakhas. Drop…

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) August 21, 2026

Kharge further challenged top BJP leaders to demonstrate their familiarity with the complete text without assistance. “Before the BJP lectures the country, how many of its own leaders can recite the entire Vande Mataram fully? Let Modi Ji and Amit Shah Ji recite the National Song fully without any teleprompter,” he remarked.

Highlighting broader political concerns, Kharge argued that the resurgence of controversy surrounding Vande Mataram was a calculated move to shift public attention away from critical national issues.

“Why this manufactured obsession?” Kharge asked, questioning the lack of equivalent outrage over unemployment, administrative paper leaks affecting students, economic challenges, and questions surrounding public funds like PM CARES.

“Why not the same outrage over the economy? Over jobs for our youth? Over paper leaks and conducting examinations properly? Over the everyday issues that actually determine the future of millions? These are nothing but diversionary tactics. These manufactured controversies are designed to distract from the internal issues haunting the BJP: Chanda Chori, endless paper leaks, Nitin Nabin’s loss, the unanswered questions around PM CARES and more,” said Kharge.

He asserted that such debates are used repeatedly as diversionary tactics whenever accountability becomes uncomfortable for the ruling government.

“When accountability becomes uncomfortable, manufacture a controversy and change the conversation. Same trick by BJP, every time,” Kharge concluded, adding that the Congress party does not require “certificates of patriotism” from organisations that did not participate in the freedom movement.

Rebutting the criticism, Kharge and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) cited the historic October 28, 1937 CWC resolution passed in Kolkata.

During the Indian freedom movement, discussions were held among leaders — guided by Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Jawaharlal Nehru — regarding the public singing of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Vande Mataram.

To maintain national unity and ensure the song remained inclusive across all communities, the committee unanimously resolved that only the first two stanzas, which focus strictly on praising the motherland’s natural beauty and abundance, would be sung at public gatherings.

Refusing to seek “patriotism validation” from the Sangh Parivar, Priyank Kharge pointed out that the Congress has consistently adhered to this 90-year-old historic standard.

On Wednesday, the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events, citing the party’s 1937 resolution. (ANI)