‘New Muslim League’: BJP National President slams Congress over 2-stanza Vande Mataram stand

New Delhi: BJP National President Nitin Nabin has criticised the Congress Working Committee (CWC) for deciding to continue with the practice of singing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party programmes.

Nabin accused the Congress of turning what he described as an “insult” to the national song into an official party position and called the Congress the “new Muslim League”.

The BJP's reaction came after the CWC on Wednesday resolved to continue following a tradition established through a 1937 CWC decision, under which only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram are recited at Congress events.

The decision comes amid a renewed debate over the national song, with the Centre recently making its complete rendition part of official protocol.
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Nabin attacks Congress over CWC decision

Reacting to the decision in a post on X, Nabin said, "The Congress has now formalised its insult into a resolution. Its working committee has decided that only the first two stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' will be sung at Congress forums."

The BJP chief also referred to the controversy during the Independence Day celebrations at the Congress headquarters, where the full rendition of Vande Mataram was played.

BJP leaders had alleged that Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi appeared “frustrated” during the rendition and had attempted to stop the song from being played in full.

Nabin argued that what the Congress had earlier dismissed as an isolated incident or coincidence had now effectively become an organisational policy through the CWC resolution.

"When, just a few days ago, this same insult had been exposed in the conduct of an individual, the Congress had dismissed it as a coincidence. Today, that very insult has become the Congress's policy," he said.
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BJP alleges ‘vote-bank’ politics

Nabin further accused the Congress of disrespecting the national song and invoked the sacrifices of freedom fighters who, he said, kept Vande Mataram alive as a symbol of the freedom struggle.

"This insult to the sacred invocation of 'Bharat Mata' is a contempt for those thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation, keeping this very song alive in their consciousness," Nabin said.

The BJP president also alleged that the Congress decision was driven by electoral considerations and accused the party of repeatedly compromising national sentiment to protect its vote bank.

"This is not merely a political defence, but proof of the hunger for that vote bank before which the Congress has repeatedly pawned the nation's self-respect," he added.

"The Congress has now become the new Muslim League of today," the BJP chief stated.

The Congress has maintained that its decision to follow the 1937 practice is rooted in the historical context surrounding the adoption of the first two stanzas at its forums.

IANS