Vande Mataram row: Sibal hits back at Shah, questions BJP's past

Kapil Sibal hit back at Amit Shah over the Vande Mataram row, accusing the BJP of 'vote-bank politics'. He questioned whether BJP leaders themselves ever sang all stanzas of the national song after Shah called the Congress's decision 'anti-national'.

Sibal questions BJP's track record

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday hit at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the ongoing Vande Mataram row, claiming that the controversy was "exposing BJP's vote-bank politics" and questioning whether the BJP and its leaders had sung all the stanzas of the national song at private or official functions since 1950. His remarks came after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram would be sung at party events, citing the Congress' 1937 resolution.

In a post on X, Sibal questioned whether the BJP had itself followed the practice of singing all the stanzas of the song. "Amit Shah on: CWC decision on two-stanza Vande Mataram Calls it '...anti-national'," Sibal said. Amit Shah on : CWC decision on two-stanza Vande Mataram Calls it “…anti-national” My question : Did: BJP in private or official functions sing all stanzas since 1950 ? Modiji as Gujarat CM ? PM Vajpayee ? You anti-national then ? Exposing your vote-bank politics ! — Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) August 21, 2026 He then posed a series of questions to the BJP. "My question: Did the BJP, in private or at official functions, sing all stanzas since 1950? Modiji as Gujarat CM? PM Vajpayee?" Sibal asked. Taking a further swipe at the BJP, he added, "You anti-national then? Exposing your vote-bank politics!"

Shah accuses Congress of 'appeasement'

Meanwhile, Amit Shah on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress, accusing it of reviving its "extreme policy of appeasement" after the CWC decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. Speaking to ANI, Shah said that the decision was not merely symbolic but a repetition of a historical error that had contributed to the partition of India. "Yesterday, the Congress Party Working Committee took a surprising and anti-national decision. Following their party's resolution of 1937, they have decided to sing only two stanzas of the great song, Vande Mataram. I want to remind the entire country that in 1937, for Muslim appeasement, the Congress party laid the foundation for the partition of the country by dividing Vande Mataram into two. From there, the two-nation theory gained strength and eventually, the country was partitioned and Pakistan was born. Today, when the Narendra Modi government has corrected that historical mistake in the 150th year of Vande Mataram's composition, and tried to strengthen national integration by singing the entire song. The decision to sing it in full in all government functions has been given legal form as well. Yesterday, Congress decided to ignore it. This decision by Congress only confirms their extreme policy of appeasement. For vote bank appeasement, they have not only insulted the immortal work of the late Bankim Babu, but also millions of martyrs who went to the gallows for the country's independence while chanting Vande Mataram, and spent many years in jail," he said

CWC's resolution sparks controversy

On Wednesday, the Congress Working Committee decided that only the first two stanzas of the national song would be sung at party events, citing the party's 1937 resolution. The decision followed days of controversy after the BJP accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party parliamentary chairperson Sonia Gandhi of conversing while the national song was being rendered during Independence Day celebrations on August 15 and demanded a public apology. (ANI)

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