'No Party or Individual Bigger Than Parliament': BJP Hits Out at Congress Amid Vande Mataram Row

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Congress of pursuing “appeasement politics” in the ongoing controversy over Vande Mataram, asserting that no political party or individual stands above the Constitution or the laws framed by Parliament.

At the first meeting of newly appointed office-bearers under national president Nitin Nabin, the BJP adopted a resolution on the national song. The move came days after the Congress Working Committee reaffirmed its 1937 decision to restrict the singing of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas at party programmes.

The resolution strongly condemned the Congress position and declared that the BJP would not accept any dilution of the national song’s honour for political convenience or appeasement. It described Vande Mataram as India’s National Song, an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, a mantra of the freedom struggle, and an enduring symbol of the nation’s consciousness. The party announced it would launch a nationwide campaign to educate people about the song’s history and significance, with every worker directed to take its message to every street and corner of the country.

BJP MP Sambit Patra sharpened the attack at a press conference, linking the Congress decision to events on Independence Day. He claimed that on August 15, while the Tricolour was being hoisted at the Congress office in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi signalled for Vande Mataram to be stopped after two stanzas.

“This is the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. On August 15, 2026, the complete Vande Mataram, which has six stanzas, was sung from the Red Fort. But on August 15, an indecent act took place at the Congress office,” Patra said.

He alleged that the subsequent CWC proposal on August 19 to limit the song to two stanzas reflected the same approach taken in 1937 and accused the Congress of engaging in the “politics of appeasement.” “The entire country is watching the politics of appeasement of the Congress party,” he added.

The controversy had intensified earlier when the BJP criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi for conversing during the rendition of the national song at Independence Day celebrations and demanded a public apology.

Congress leaders have defended the CWC decision. Party MP K.C. Venugopal stated that the organisation’s position remains consistent with the 1937 resolution adopted under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and that only the first two stanzas would be sung at Congress events.

The BJP has framed the issue as one of national honour versus political calculation, while the Congress maintains it is adhering to a long-standing internal convention rooted in the freedom movement.