- Karnataka limits Vande Mataram to two stanzas at official events, sparking dispute
- Home Minister Priyank Kharge challenges BJP leaders to sing all stanzas without aid
- Union Home Ministry directed singing all six stanzas with National Anthem in January
Karnataka Home Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge has defended the state government's decision to limit Vande Mataram to two stanzas at official events, escalating the row over the BJP's demand that all stanzas of the national song be sung.
Kharge, while addressing a crowd, challenged BJP leaders BY Vijayendra and R Ashoka to sing all stanzas of Vande Mataram "without using a teleprompter or looking into a piece of paper".
"...If they do, I will resign," he said.
The Congress leader also targeted the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the row.
"Our forefathers decided that only two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung. Now BJP and PM Modi want to sing all stanzas. Are they greater than Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, and even the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore?" he questioned.
In January, the Union Home Ministry directed that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung before the National Anthem - Jana Gana Mana - when both are played together. The directive was issued as the Centre marked the 150th year of Vande Mataram. However, the Congress Working Committee decided on August 19 to abide by its 1937 resolution on Vande Mataram, under which only two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events.
The opposition BJP in Karnataka had lashed out at the Congress government, terming the decision "appeasement politics."
Earlier on Tuesday, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Karnataka High Court challenging the state government's order directing that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at state government programmes. The plea, filed by advocate Girish Bharadwaj, said that the directive runs contrary to instructions issued by the Union government.
According to the petition, the Ministry of Home Affairs, through a letter dated July 9, 2026, circulated the orders relating to the national song to all states for "strict compliance". The petitioner said that the Union government's directions prescribe the official version of Vande Mataram as the complete composition in six stanzas and require the official version to be recited during mass singing.
He also argued that the Karnataka government's order is contrary to the Union government's prescribed version of the national song and sought to have the order quashed.
(With inputs from PTI)
