Shah criticises Congress decision to sing two stanzas of Vande Mataram

PTI, August 20, 2026, Chennai/Nagpur : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the Congress, saying the party's decision to sing just two stanzas of Vande Mataram was aimed at the appeasement of its vote bank in defiance of the law.

Referring to the Congress Working Committee's decision on Wednesday to sing only two paras of the national song, instead of its full rendition, Shah traced the history of Partition and emphasised the consequences suffered by the nation following the truncation of Vande Mataram.

In a statement posted on X, Shah said: "In 1937, for the sake of appeasement, it was the Congress itself that fragmented Vande Mataram into two parts."

"From there, the two-nation theory gained strength, leading to the partition of the country. On the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, the Modi government corrected this historic mistake and gave the full song legal form. But under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, the Congress is once again treading the path of appeasement for the sake of its vote bank," Shah said.

The mistake of fragmenting Vande Mataram had already happened once, and the nation had suffered its consequences, the Union Minister said.

"This is an appeal to the countrymen to unite and raise their voices against this appeasement by the Congress," he added.

The CWC on Wednesday decided to abide by the 1937 resolution of its highest decision-making body on Vande Mataram, saying only two stanzas of the national song would be sung at all party events henceforth.

BJP president Nitin Nabin slammed the Congress, alleging that the opposition party had become the "new Muslim League" for the sake of votes.