Congress Sticks To 1937 Vande Mataram Resolution, Limits Party Events To First Two Stanzas

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday reaffirmed the party’s decades-old position on Vande Mataram, deciding that only the first two stanzas of the National Song will be sung at Congress events.

The decision came amid a sharp political exchange with the BJP, which has accused Congress leaders of disrespecting the National Song by not singing its full version. After a meeting lasting more than four hours, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the party would continue to follow the resolution adopted by its top leadership in 1937.

“There is no confusion on that,” Venugopal said, stressing that the Congress would stand by the decision taken by its leadership at the time, which included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel.

Asked specifically whether Congress workers would sing only the first two stanzas at party programmes, Venugopal replied in the affirmative.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the CWC had discussed the October 28, 1937 resolution and that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also referred to the earlier decision during the meeting. According to Ramesh, the resolution was adopted in the presence of several senior leaders and followed discussions around the appropriate use of the National Song.

Ramesh also reiterated the Congress position that “Jana Gana Mana” is the National Anthem and Vande Mataram is the National Song, referring to the position associated with the country’s early political leadership.

The controversy intensified after the BJP criticised Kharge for singing what it described as an “incomplete” version of Vande Mataram at a public meeting in South Goa on Monday. Kharge, responding on Tuesday, said he had sung the same version associated with leaders such as Gandhi, Patel, Nehru and even former BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and questioned why following that version should be considered wrong.

The Congress has now sought to settle the issue by formally reaffirming its 1937 position. Venugopal accused the BJP of turning an emotional national issue into a political controversy, while Ramesh said the focus should instead remain on issues such as youth, examinations, alleged irregularities and foreign policy.