Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Priyank Kharge Says BJP MLAs Struggled With Vande Mataram
BJP lawmakers in Karnataka sang the full version of Vande Mataram in the state legislature.
The official recording played there had stopped after two stanzas.
Home Minister Priyank Kharge said some BJP members had trouble saying the words in the last two stanzas.
He said those parts include Bengali words and are harder for many people in the region.
Kharge had earlier challenged BJP leaders to sing the whole song without looking at notes or a phone.
He said the lawmakers’ performance supported his claim that they did not know the song completely.
Kharge also said people usually know the first two stanzas because they learned them in childhood.
He criticized the BJP for raising the issue now, rather than when it previously held power.
The BJP had criticized the Congress government’s decision to use only the first two stanzas at most official programs.
BJP legislators recited the full version of Vande Mataram in Karnataka’s Assembly and Council after official recordings ended at two stanzas.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said several BJP members struggled to pronounce words in the final two stanzas.
Kharge said the later stanzas contain Bengali words and are more difficult for people from the region to pronounce.
He challenged BJP leaders to recite the complete song publicly without using papers, phones, or teleprompters.
Kharge accused the BJP of raising the issue for political reasons after Congress limited the song to two stanzas at most government events.
- Who
- Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and BJP legislators, including opposition leaders R Ashoka and B Y Vijayendra.
- What
- A dispute over BJP legislators’ recitation of the full version of Vande Mataram in Karnataka’s legislature.
- When
- Monday; Kharge issued his challenge the previous week.
- Where
- The Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Karnataka Legislative Council in Bengaluru.
- Why
- The dispute followed a Congress government order limiting Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas at most government programs, while BJP leaders criticized that decision.
Congress Minister’s Position
BJP’s Position
Whether the full song is known
Congress Minister’s Position
Priyank Kharge said BJP leaders could not correctly recite and pronounce the final two stanzas without referring to written or electronic prompts.
BJP’s Position
The BJP legislators attempted to recite the full version in the legislature, and the party criticized the Congress government’s decision to limit official renditions to two stanzas.
Reason for raising the issue
Congress Minister’s Position
Kharge said the BJP’s renewed focus on the full song was political because it did not raise the issue during its earlier periods in power.
BJP’s Position
The BJP’s criticism, as described in the article, focused on the Congress government’s restriction of Vande Mataram at government programs.
- Location
- Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Song
- Vande Mataram
- Recitation
- BJP legislators sang the full version in the Assembly and Council
- Official recording
- Ended after the first two stanzas
- Kharge’s claim
- BJP members struggled with pronunciation in the final two stanzas
- Language issue
- Kharge said much of the remaining portion is in Bengali
- Government rule
- Only the first two stanzas are sung at most Congress government programs, with stated exceptions for events attended by senior constitutional officials