Top News

The singing of the complete Vande Mataram at the inaugural ceremony of Jammu and Kashmir’s first international film festival has sparked a fresh political confrontation, with Congress objecting to the rendition and the BJP launching a sharp attack on the party.

All six stanzas of the National Song were sung during the ceremony, with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and other prominent leaders standing in attention for around three minutes and 10 seconds.

The rendition soon became a political flashpoint after a video of the event surfaced, prompting Congress to advise its ally, the National Conference, on how the song should be sung.

Congress Objects To Full Vande Mataram Rendition

Congress said its allies should respect the views and decisions of the freedom fighters on Vande Mataram. The party appealed for only the two stanzas that were adopted during the freedom movement to be sung.

The objection came despite the presence of Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah at the ceremony, where they joined others in standing in attention during the complete rendition of the National Song.

The controversy has brought the long-running political debate surrounding Vande Mataram back into focus, this time in Jammu and Kashmir.

KC Venugopal Raises Objection

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal reacted to the video on social media, arguing that the complete version of Vande Mataram did not fit with the harmonious and pluralistic vision that India's freedom fighters had imagined and promoted.

Venugopal referred to the views and decisions of prominent freedom fighters and urged the party's alliance partners to respect their judgment. Congress maintained that its allies should also follow the two stanzas of Vande Mataram that were adopted during the freedom struggle.

The intervention by the Congress leader effectively put the National Conference in a difficult position, given its participation in the complete rendition at the film festival.

BJP Targets Congress Over National Conference’s Stance

The BJP quickly seized on Congress' objection, with party MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi targeting Venugopal's remarks.

Trivedi argued that the Congress general secretary's objection had exposed what he described as the party's “real face”, despite rules being passed in Parliament concerning the singing of the complete Vande Mataram.

The BJP also highlighted that the National Conference, one of Congress' alliance partners, had participated in the full rendition. Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah were among those who stood in attention while the National Song was being sung.

BJP Says Congress Has Become ‘21st-Century Muslim League’

Trivedi further pointed out that leaders of Congress' alliance partners, including the National Conference and NCP, were participating in the complete rendition of Vande Mataram, while Congress was objecting to it.

Taking a sharp dig at the party, he said Congress' alliance partners were not backing it on the issue and claimed that, apart from the Muslim League, no one appeared to be supporting its position.

Trivedi then escalated his attack, saying there was “no doubt” that Congress had become the “Muslim League of the 21st century”. He alleged that the party's “secularism mask” had come off and accused it of surrendering to fundamentalist forces.

The controversy that began with the rendition of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram at the Jammu and Kashmir film festival has now widened into a broader political clash between Congress and the BJP, with the National Conference's position adding another dimension to the dispute.