Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Vande Mataram row: Suvendu Adhikari targets Sonia Gandhi, demands apology
Every year on August 15, India celebrates Independence Day.
At the Congress party's office in Delhi, people sang a special song called Vande Mataram.
A leader named Sonia Gandhi was accused of not wanting the whole song to be sung.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari got very angry and said that was an insult to the song and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the man who wrote it.
He asked Gandhi to say sorry and said people across Bengal were very upset.
The Congress party said that is not what happened; they said Gandhi was just asking for a chair for the party chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, because he had been standing for a long time.
A new law now protects Vande Mataram just like India's national anthem, so insulting the song can be punished.
Both sides still do not agree about what really happened.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari accused Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at an Independence Day event at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.
Adhikari called the alleged objection an insult to nationalism and to the song's writer, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and demanded an unconditional apology, warning that failure could lead to widespread protests in West Bengal.
The Congress denied any attempt to stop the full rendition, saying Gandhi was only asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who had been standing for some time.
Parliament recently passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, making insult to Vande Mataram punishable and placing it on par with the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, a fifth-generation direct descendant of Bankim Chandra, also wrote to Gandhi seeking an unconditional apology, and the BJP's Yuva Morcha announced a protest rally in Kolkata.
- Who
- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who made the allegation; Sonia Gandhi, who was accused; and Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, for whom Congress says Gandhi was asking for a chair.
- What
- A political row over the alleged objection by Sonia Gandhi to singing the full version of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day, with the BJP demanding an apology.
- When
- The event was on Independence Day, August 15, 2026; Adhikari spoke on August 16, 2026, and Parliament passed the amended law in July 2026.
- Where
- At the Congress headquarters in Delhi, where the song was sung; Adhikari spoke at the state secretariat in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Why
- The BJP and Adhikari consider the alleged objection an insult to nationalism and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, while Congress says Gandhi only asked for a chair for Kharge.
Congress
BJP and allies
Objection to Vande Mataram
Congress
Congress denies any attempt to stop the singing of the full version of the national song.
BJP and allies
Adhikari and the BJP say Gandhi expressed displeasure at the full version and was visibly furious on live telecast, and that video footage will establish what happened.
Reason behind Gandhi's conduct
Congress
Gandhi was only asking for a chair for Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had been standing for some time.
BJP and allies
The Congress is indulging in 'appeasement politics' to satisfy a particular vote bank, and Gandhi should apologise unconditionally.
- Allegation
- Sonia Gandhi objected to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at an Independence Day event at the Congress headquarters in Delhi
- Congress response
- Denied the charge; Gandhi was only asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who had been standing for some time
- Accuser and demand
- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, at the state secretariat in Kolkata on August 16, 2026, demanded an unconditional apology and warned of widespread protests in Bengal
- Protest plan
- BJP's Yuva Morcha announced a protest rally in Kolkata, with a march proposed from Esplanade to Moulali
- Related law
- Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on July 30, 2026, a day after Rajya Sabha approval
- New legal status
- Vande Mataram placed on par with the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana; preventing its singing punishable with up to three years in prison, a fine, or both
- Song's writer
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, revered in West Bengal as 'Sahitya Samrat'
- Descendant's appeal
- BJP MLA Sumitro Chatterjee, a fifth-generation direct descendant of Bankim Chandra, cited renditions by Rabindranath Tagore and supporters of Bal Gangadhar Tilak plus the 1937 truncated-version episode involving Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and sought an unconditional apology from Gandhi
