Politics
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Kharge says Congress will keep two-stanza song
Times of India··19 Aug
On 18 August 2026, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said his party would keep singing two stanzas of Vande Mataram after BJP leaders objected at Congress events. He said he had sung the version linked to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel. BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said all six stanzas were part of the freedom struggle until later curtailed.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you attend a party or public event where Vande Mataram is sung, Congress has said it will continue the two-stanza version used at its 15 August and Goa programmes.
- Anyone following the 150th-year notification can note the Union home ministry listed six stanzas as the official version in February 2026.
- If you are in Goa, BJP leaders there asked Kharge and Sonia Gandhi to apologise after two stanzas were sung at a booth meeting.
What's Happening
- Kharge spoke to reporters on 18 August after BJP criticised the Congress Independence Day programme.
- He said he sang the version linked to Gandhi, Nehru and Patel.
- Ravi Shankar Prasad said the full six stanzas were later reduced under political pressure.
How The Six-Stanza Notification Entered The Row
- A February home ministry notification listed six stanzas as the official text to mark 150 years of the composition.
- BJP has said Sonia Gandhi's gestures at the 15 August Congress event showed an attempt to stop the song beyond two paragraphs.
- Kharge said a future government could also change the rule, and that Congress was continuing a 90-year practice.
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