Marking the 150th anniversary of India's national song 'Vande Mataram', Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), asserting that the RSS has never sung 'Vande Mataram' or the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' in their shakhas or offices. Kharge's statement, made on Friday, November 7, 2025, commemorates the anniversary of 'Vande Mataram', a song he hails as having awakened the collective soul of the nation and becoming a rallying cry for freedom.
Kharge posted on X that it is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism – the RSS and the BJP, have never sung Vande Mataram or our National Anthem Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices. Instead, they continue to sing 'Namaste Sada Vatsale', a song glorifying their organisations, not the nation. Since its founding in 1925, the RSS has avoided Vande Mataram, despite its universal reverence. He added that not once in its texts or literature does the song find mention.
Kharge further alleged that the Sangh Parivar had supported the British against Indians during the freedom movement. He stated that the RSS and Sangh Parivar supported the British against Indians in the National Movement, did not raise the National Flag for 52 years, abused the Constitution of India, burnt effigies of Bapu and Babasaheb Ambedkar, and, in the words of Sardar Patel, were involved in Gandhiji's assassination.
In contrast, Kharge emphasized the Congress party's deep-rooted connection with both 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana Gana Mana'. He noted that both songs are sung with reverence at every Congress gathering and event, symbolizing India's unity and pride. Kharge also mentioned that from 1896 to the present day, every Congress meeting, big or small, from a Plenary Session or a Block Level meeting, they have sung Vande Mataram with pride and patriotism as a tribute to the people of India. The Congress President reaffirmed the party's unshakable faith in 'Vande Mataram', calling it the eternal song of our motherland, the clarion call of our unity, and the voice of India's undying spirit.
Kharge's remarks coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the national song, where he alleged that some important verses of 'Vande Mataram' were removed in 1937, which he said divided people and even influenced the path to India's partition. Modi further said that the same divisive thinking still exists today, and there are always voices trying to mislead or make people doubt themselves.
The Congress party had officially adopted 'Vande Mataram' as a national song in 1938. However, the BJP has accused the Congress of disrespecting the hymn by adopting a truncated version in 1937, claiming that the disregarded sections referenced three Hindu goddesses, including Durga. Jawaharlal Nehru had also suggested that the background of 'Vande Mataram' is likely to irritate Muslims. During the Congress session in Faizpur in 1937, 'Vande Mataram' was adopted without the stanzas referring to Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswathi. The committee recommended that whenever 'Vande Mataram' is sung at national gatherings, only the first two stanzas should be sung.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri sparked controversy by claiming that 'Jana Gana Mana' was composed to welcome a British official. This statement drew sharp criticism from Congress leader Priyank Kharge, who dismissed it as utter nonsense and an "RSS' WhatsApp history lesson". Priyank Kharge emphasized that Rabindranath Tagore wrote the hymn "Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" in 1911, and its first stanza became "Jana Gana Mana". He added that Tagore clarified in 1937 and 1939 that it hails the Dispenser of India's destiny and could never be George V, George VI, or any other George.
