‘New muslim league’: Nitin Nabin attacks Congress as Vande Mataram row escalates

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 20, 2026: BJP national working president Nitin Nabin on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its decision to sing only the first two stanzas of "Vande Mataram" at party events. The Opposition reacted after Nabin accused the Congress of becoming the "new Muslim League" for votes.

Nabin’s remarks came a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided to follow its 1937 resolution under which only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at Congress programmes.

"The Congress has now formalised its insult into a resolution. Its working committee has decided that only the first two stanzas of ’Vande Mataram’ will be sung at Congress forums. When, just a few days ago, this same insult had been exposed in the conduct of an individual, the Congress had dismissed it as a coincidence. Today, that very insult has become the Congress’s policy," Nabin posted on X.

He said the decision showed the Congress’s "hunger for that vote bank before which it has repeatedly pawned the nation’s self-respect".

Kirti Azad challenges Nabin

Reacting to Nabin’s remarks, Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad challenged the BJP leader to recite the complete version of Vande Mataram.

"Nitin Nabin should come in front of me. I don’t know the entire song, but I will look on paper. And I want him to recite the entire ’Vande Mataram’, from beginning to end, whatever the complete version is. I am ready now..." Azad said.

Nabin says ‘Bharat Mata’ was insulted

“This insult to the sacred invocation of ’Bharat Mata’ is a contempt for those thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation, keeping this very song alive in their consciousness,” Nabin wrote on X.

"This is not merely a political defence, but proof of the hunger for that vote bank before which the Congress has repeatedly pawned the nation’s self-respect. The Congress has now become the new Muslim League of today," he added.

Nabin was also referring to the controversy during the Congress’s Independence Day celebrations on August 15, when the BJP accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi of conversing while "Vande Mataram" was being rendered. The BJP had demanded an apology, while the Congress dismissed the incident as a coincidence.

Sanjay Raut attacks BJP

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also hit out at the BJP over the controversy, saying the party should instead ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to publicly sing the complete song.

"BJP does not know the Constitution of the country, nor do they know Vande Mataram. Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Modi should come forward and sing all six stanzas of Vande Mataram in public, without a teleprompter.

Even before the Constitution came into force and before India’s independence, the Congress Working Committee, on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore, had accepted these two stanzas. The Bharatiya Janata Party is neither greater than nor above Rabindranath Tagore. They want to create a Hindu-Muslim divide; let them do so," Raut said.

Congress cites 1937 resolution

The Congress has defended its decision by citing the resolution adopted by its Working Committee in 1937.

After the CWC meeting, Congress MP K C Venugopal said the party’s position on the recitation of "Vande Mataram" was clear and that it would follow the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937.

Amit Shah attacks Congress

Amit Shah called the Congress Working Committee’s decision to sing only two stanzas of "Vande Mataram" at party events "anti-national" and accused the opposition party of appeasement politics.

"Yesterday, Congress Working Committee took an anti-national decision. Following their 1937 resolution, Congress decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. I want to remind the nation that in 1937, by dividing Vande Mataram for the appeasement of Muslims, the Congress laid the foundation for the partition of the country," Shah said in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu.

He accused the Congress of insulting Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s creation and those who sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle.

"Congress’s decision confirms its policy of appeasement. They have not only insulted this creation of Bankim Babu but also lakhs of people who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country," he said.

Shah also accused the Congress, under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, of reviving appeasement politics and urged people to oppose the decision.

"BJP condemns this decision of the Congress party," he said.

KC Venugopal hits back at BJP

Congress MP KC Venugopal hit back at the BJP.

"We have been reciting Vande Mataram since 1937, more than 90 years. What is new for us? BJP was not a part of the freedom struggle. Vande Mataram was a part of the freedom struggle; it is emotional for us, but political for them (BJP)," Venugopal said.

He accused the BJP of diverting attention from issues such as paper leaks, alleged theft of donations and Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh.

"They want to divert attention from the genuine issues of paper leaks, theft of donations and Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh," he said.