NC, Congress clash over playing full Vande Mataram in J&K

A fresh war of words broke out on Wednesday between alliance partners National Conference and Congress after the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram was played at an official State event in Srinagar, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah standing through the entire rendition.

The national song was first played at the inauguration of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre on Monday. Both Abdullahs stood at attention for the complete version. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stood respectfully at attention for the full rendition of the national song, “Vande Mataram,” during the oath ceremony of the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

Congress, which extends outside support to the NC-led Government in the Union Territory and is part of the INDIA bloc with the NC nationally, objected and asked its ally to stick to the two-stanza version adopted by the party in 1937 and reaffirmed by the Congress Working Committee last month.

Hitting back, the National Conference (NC) said it was a “statutory obligation” to play the full national song at a State event and that no one would be forced to sing. Responding to the criticism, NC chief spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq told reporters in Srinagar that Government protocol must be separated from party ideology.

“The National Conference has a clear stance. When Parliament has adopted it, playing Vande Mataram becomes a statutory obligation, and that is what the Government did,” Sadiq said.

Chief ministers in non-BJP states like Telangana and Karnataka have also played the complete version of Vande Mataram at official functions, he said.

“As far as the party’s stand is concerned, anyone who wants to sing Vande Mataram can do so, and no one will be forced,” he added. Earlier, on Tuesday, Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal posted a video of the IFFJK on X, asserting that the unabridged version of Vande Mataram “sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India”.

He urged alliance partners to honour the Congress’ historical 1937 working committee resolution, which adopted a truncated version of the song to respect India’s religious diversity and conscience.

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra on Wednesday expressed concern over the NC’s move, stating that national symbols must reflect India’s constitutional temperament.

“The adopted version represented a conscious balance, preserving historic significance while remaining sensitive to India’s plural ethos,” Karra wrote on X.

“National symbols acquire greater dignity when they accommodate India’s diversity, not when that diversity is asked to accommodate them,” he said.

NC spokesperson Sadiq tagged Karra in a post on X in which he shared videos of Independence Day functions in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where the full version of Vande Mataram was played.

“Jenab Tariq Karra saheb, please take a look at your Congress CMs and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you!” Sadiq said.