Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Congress hits back at Amit Shah over Vande Mataram apology row
After India's Independence Day celebrations, the Home Minister said the Congress party insulted India's national song, 'Vande Mataram.'
He said the song was stopped in the middle at the Congress headquarters and asked Congress leaders to say sorry.
The Congress party said that is not true and that the minister is making a fuss to hide other problems.
Congress leaders reminded everyone that their party supported 'Vande Mataram' during the freedom struggle.
They said even Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters supported the song many years ago.
They also said the minister himself has hurt important leaders like Dr. B R Ambedkar.
The two big political parties in India are now arguing loudly about this song.
Both sides say the other is disrespecting the country.
The argument is mostly about politics and not about the song itself.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of insulting the national song 'Vande Mataram' and demanded the party apologise to the people and its writer, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
At a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Shah claimed Sonia Gandhi asked for 'Vande Mataram' to be stopped midway during the Congress's Independence Day event.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit back, saying the apology demand diverts attention from 'the colossal failures' of Shah and his party.
Ramesh cited an October 28, 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution adopting the first two stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' to defend the party's record, and criticised Shah over his remarks on B R Ambedkar.
The BJP separately alleged that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge showed 'utter disrespect' towards the song and demanded an apology.
- Who
- Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP on one side; Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on the other.
- What
- A political dispute after Shah accused the Congress of insulting 'Vande Mataram' by stopping it midway at its Independence Day event and demanded an apology; Congress hit back, calling the demand a diversion.
- When
- The dispute escalated on Sunday, August 16, following the Independence Day celebrations held on Saturday; it also references a Rajya Sabha debate from December 10, 2025.
- Where
- The Congress headquarters in Delhi, where the song was allegedly stopped; Shah made his remarks at a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.
- Why
- Shah claims the Congress insulted the national song and its writer out of 'vote-bank politics'; Congress leaders say Shah is trying to divert attention from his failures and alleged insults, including to B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress's View
BJP and Amit Shah's View
Was the song stopped at the Congress event?
Congress's View
Congress rejects the allegation; it says the demand for an apology is meant to divert attention from Shah's failures and real issues.
BJP and Amit Shah's View
Shah asserts the song was stopped midway at the Congress headquarters, that 'we all saw it on television', and that Sonia Gandhi should apologise.
Who has stood for 'Vande Mataram'?
Congress's View
Congress leaders point to their party's history, including the 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution, and say leaders like Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi supported it, while the RSS did not unfurl the tricolour at its headquarters until January 2002.
BJP and Amit Shah's View
Shah says the Congress has forgotten 'Vande Mataram' due to 'vote-bank politics' and recalled that thousands were jailed or beaten for singing the song during the freedom struggle.
Who is being insulted?
Congress's View
Ramesh says Shah, who insulted B R Ambedkar, has no right to demand apologies, and that the government, in targeting Nehru, 'ended up insulting Tagore'.
BJP and Amit Shah's View
Shah frames the issue as an insult to the national song and to its writer, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and demands an apology to 'Bankim Babu's immortal spirit'.
- Song in dispute
- 'Vande Mataram', India's national song
- Song writer
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
- Shah's allegation
- Sonia Gandhi asked for the song to be stopped midway at the Congress headquarters during the Independence Day programme
- Congress response
- Apology demand is a diversion from 'the colossal failures' of Shah and his party
- Historical reference
- Congress Working Committee passed a resolution on 'Vande Mataram' on October 28, 1937, adopting its first two stanzas
- Counter-allegation
- Ramesh accused Shah of insulting B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha on December 17, 2024
- Other leaders named
- BJP demanded apologies from Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge
