BJP Condemns Congress Vande Mataram Stance, Launches Campaign

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, August 22, 2026, passed a major resolution condemning the Congress Working Committee's decision to limit the singing of the national song Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas at party events. The BJP announced it would launch a nationwide campaign to promote the history and significance of the full six-stanza song.

The BJP's resolution, passed at a meeting of its new office-bearers in New Delhi, strongly opposed the Congress decision made on August 19, 2026. That decision reaffirmed a 1937 Congress resolution restricting the recitation of Vande Mataram at its programmes. BJP President Nitin Nabin stated the party "strongly condemns and unequivocally opposes" the move and declared that "no compromise on the honour, legacy of Vande Mataram will be accepted for political convenience or appeasement."

The BJP's resolution argued that the Congress Working Committee's decision cannot override the Constitution or Parliament's law. It cited the Constituent Assembly's 1950 declaration and a 2026 law that gives statutory protection to the National Song at par with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. The party said the "political compromise of 1937...