Now Reading: BJP to campaign against Kerala over Vande Mataram row
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BJP to campaign against Kerala over Vande Mataram row
The BJP will launch a nationwide campaign against the Kerala government over the omission of Vande Mataram from the state's Independence Day celebrations, state BJP general secretary M.T. Ramesh said on Monday. Ramesh accused the UDF government of taking an 'anti-national' stance by bowing to pressure from the Indian Union Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami, and said the BJP was also considering legal action.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit back on Tuesday, challenging the BJP government to file a case against him, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel if singing the two-stanza version traditionally used by Congress is a crime. 'If this is a crime, then file a case against Gandhi, Nehru and Patel,' Kharge said. The Times of India reports that Kharge's remarks came after BJP objected to his rendition in Goa and to Sonia Gandhi's gestures at Congress's I-Day event.
The Hindu reports that while Vande Mataram was rendered in full in three Congress-ruled states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu omitted it. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, which mandates all six stanzas, was recently passed. The Congress Working Committee is expected to discuss the party's stance on the song at its Wednesday meeting, according to The News Minute.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The three sources cover the same story but with distinct framing. The Hindu leads with the BJP's campaign announcement and details the Kerala government's omission, framing the controversy as a state-level defiance of a central law. The Times of India and The News Minute both center Kharge's challenge, but Times of India balances Kharge's defiance with BJP's counter-argument about Congress's 1937 decision, while The News Minute provides more historical context on Muslim objections and the CWC's role. The middle-ground takeaway: the row is a political clash over national symbolism with legal stakes, and the CWC meeting on Wednesday will be a key signal of Congress's unified position. The actual legal enforcement remains untested.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 pro-government, 2 neutral
Sources (3): thehindu.com (pro government), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), thenewsminute.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
