The Ruling National Conference (NC) and its ally the Congress traded barbs on Wednesday over the NC leadership’s decision to stand for all stanzas of the national song, Vande Mataram, after it was played at the inauguration of the International Film Festival Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK) in Srinagar on September 7.

J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra, in a post on X, questioned Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s decision to stand for all stanzas of the song. 

“National symbols, songs and traditions occupy a special place in the heart of every Indian. Their true strength lies in their ability to bind together a nation as diverse as ours. It is therefore a matter of concern that our alliance partners chose to sing the full version of Vande Mataram, disregarding the considered evolution of the song’s place in India’s national life, not merely during the freedom movement, but through the constitutional journey of the Republic thereafter. The adopted version represented a conscious balance preserving the historic … ,” said Mr. Karra.

Mr. Karra’s post followed a social media statement by Congress General Secretary K. C. Venugopal, who posted the video of the Srinagar ceremony in which NC leaders stood for all the stanzas.

“The full version of Vande Mataram sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India. For us, the considered judgment of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Acharya Narendra Dev, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu and J.B. Kripalani — shaped in no small part by the counsel of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore — remains paramount,” said Mr. Venugopal.

Honour freedom fighters

In the post, the Congress leader said, “With respect and humility, we would like our allies to honour the wisdom and judgment of our freedom fighters and stand with us in singing only the version of this beautiful and historic song that they adopted. That version was chosen deliberately, to keep the song from being communalised — a threat as real today as it was then. Upholding it is how we uphold the secular, inclusive character of our Republic.”

The Congress posts on social media platforms drew a sharp reaction from NC leaders. NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq shared videos of swearing-in ceremonies involving a Congress chief minister and asked Mr. Karra to comment.

NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said, “The NC’s official position is that it is not a votary of either the first two stanzas or six stanzas of the national song. However, it is a Constitutional obligation, and every holder of a Constitutional office has to accept it, whether it is the CM, a MP or anyone else.”

Referring to videos from the Congress-ruled states of Karnataka and Telangana, Mr. Dar said, “The chief ministers stand for all the six stanzas. However, we do not want to make this a controversy. We are not here to fight the Congress.”

Meanwhile, the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also criticised the NC. “On every key issue, Rahul Gandhi took a stand, his J&K ally NC caved and rolled out the red carpet for the BJP. No condemnation on the Waqf amendment Bill. No condemnation of SIR fraud. Justifying EVM rigging concerns. Accepted Vande Mataram’s addition. INDIA bloc in elections, BJP’s silent enabler in practice,” said PDP leader and legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra.