U.S. briefing
Congress urges allies to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram
Congress appealed for allies to support its shorter version of Vande Mataram after all six stanzas were played at an event attended by Omar and Farooq Abdullah.
Congress has asked its allies to join it in singing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram after the full six-stanza version was played at an event attended by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and his father, Farooq Abdullah. Both are leading figures in National Conference, a Congress ally.
Congress general secretary for organisation KC Venugopal made the appeal on X. He argued that the full version was difficult to reconcile with the pluralist traditions envisioned by India's freedom fighters, and asked allies to respect their judgment when choosing which version to sing.
Venugopal said the party's decision to use two stanzas was deliberate and intended to prevent religious division over the song. He invoked Congress's 1937 resolution recommending the shorter version to preserve communal harmony, a position the party has continued to defend against BJP criticism.