The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday passed a detailed resolution upholding the complete version of Vande Mataram as India’s National Song and strongly rejecting the Congress Working Committee’s recent decision to limit its singing to only the first two stanzas at party events.
The resolution was adopted during a meeting of the party’s national office-bearers, chaired by BJP president Nitin Nabin. It came three days after the Congress Working Committee on August 19 reaffirmed its 1937 stand, directing that only the opening two stanzas be sung at Congress programmes.
In a statement shared after the meeting, Nabin said the BJP “strongly condemns and unequivocally opposes” the Congress decision. The party described Vande Mataram as the National Song of Bharat, an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, a mantra of the freedom struggle, and an immortal symbol of India’s national consciousness.
The resolution stresses that the full six-stanza composition must be protected in its entirety. It points to the Constituent Assembly’s 1950 pronouncement and a 2026 parliamentary amendment that extended statutory protection to Vande Mataram on par with the National Anthem. A Congress Working Committee resolution, the BJP argued, cannot override the constitutional institutions or laws of the Republic. “A political compromise of 1937 cannot be elevated above the constitutional settlement of 1950 and legislation enacted by Parliament in 2026,” the resolution stated.
Nabin made clear the party’s firm position: “No compromise on the honour, legacy of Vande Mataram will be accepted for political convenience or appeasement.” The BJP resolved to reject any attempt to subordinate the National Song to communal pressure, political appeasement, or narrow vote-bank considerations.
As part of its response, the party announced a nationwide campaign. BJP workers will take the history, meaning, national significance, and glorious legacy of Vande Mataram to every corner of the country, with special focus on the younger generation. The aim is to ensure that the complete song and its association with India’s independence struggle are not forgotten. The resolution also commits the party to highlighting Mahatma Gandhi’s description of Vande Mataram as an anti-imperialist slogan linked to the purest national sentiment.
The controversy gained fresh momentum after Independence Day celebrations on August 15, when the BJP accused senior Congress leaders of conversing during the rendition of the National Song and demanded an apology. The Congress’s subsequent reaffirmation of the 1937 position intensified the political exchange.
In its resolution, the BJP framed the issue as one of national honour rather than partisan politics. It pledged to uphold the dignity, heritage, and national charac
