Vande Mataram Row: Congress President Says ‘File FIR’ Against Gandhi, Nehru, Vajpayee

New Delhi, 18th August 2026: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has hit back at the BJP amid the ongoing controversy over the rendition of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day.

Kharge questioned the complaint filed against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the incident, saying that if singing the version of the national song used by Congress was a crime, cases should also be filed against leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“We sang the same Vande Mataram that Mahatma Gandhi sang. We sang what Jawaharlal Nehru sang,” Kharge said while speaking to reporters in Goa on Tuesday.

The controversy began during the Congress’s Independence Day celebrations at its headquarters in New Delhi on August 15. The party had decided to sing the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, but the rendition continued beyond the two stanzas.

A video from the event showed Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi gesturing during the rendition, leading to criticism from the BJP. Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of disrespecting the national song and demanded an apology.

A complaint was subsequently filed with the Delhi Police against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, alleging disruption during the singing of the national song. The Delhi Police is examining the complaint.

Responding to the controversy, Kharge said Congress had been singing the same version of Vande Mataram for years and pointed to its use by leaders across political eras.

He also said the same version had been sung during the tenure of the BJP-led government under Vajpayee. Kharge further claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also sung the same version during his 12 years as Gujarat Chief Minister.

“If this is a crime, then file a case against Mahatma Gandhi. If this is the same crime, file a case against Nehru,” Kharge said.

Kharge also questioned whether the version of a national song could change depending on which government was in power. He said Congress had followed a tradition around the song that had existed for decades.

The Vande Mataram controversy has now become another flashpoint between the Congress and BJP, with both parties accusing the other of politicising a national symbol.