# BJP files police complaints against Sonia Gandhi over Vande Mataram row 2026-08-17T02:27:00+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The BJP Yuva Morcha has filed a police complaint in Bengaluru against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, alleging she disrespected the national song Vande Mataram during the Independence Day flag-hoisting ceremony at the Congress party headquarters in Delhi on August 15. Separately, a complaint has been lodged with Delhi Police seeking an FIR against both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, demanding a probe under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, after visuals showed the leaders speaking among themselves while the song was being recited. Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the BJP's charge, accusing Congress of shamelessness for allegedly trying to stop the rendition. The Congress rejected the allegations. Party general secretary K C Venugopal called it a communication issue, saying the party deeply respects Vande Mataram and accusing the BJP of weaponising patriotism. The Bengaluru complaint, filed at Malleswaram station, has not yet resulted in an FIR. Protests also took place in Srinagar, where BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge of disrespecting the national song. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com - livemint.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T05:41:15+00:00. Tags: Bengaluru, BJP, Congress, Sonia Gandhi, Vande Mataram Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-files-complaint-against-sonia-gandhi-over-vande-mataram/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-files-complaint-against-sonia-gandhi-over-vande-mataram/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/