# Congress to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram, BJP hits back 2026-08-20T04:06:38+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Congress party has decided to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at all its events, sticking to a 1937 resolution of its working committee. The decision was announced by general secretary KC Venugopal after a CWC meeting on Wednesday attended by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and party president Mallikarjun Kharge. Venugopal said the 1937 resolution was taken by leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel, and the party will follow it. He accused the BJP of making Vande Mataram a political issue. BJP president Nitin Nabin called the decision an insult to Bharat Mata and martyrs, and labelled Congress the 'new Muslim League.' He said the move formalises an insult that was first seen at the Congress's Independence Day event on August 15. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both The Federal and Times Now report the same facts: Congress will sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram per its 1937 resolution, and BJP chief Nitin Nabin called it the 'new Muslim League.' The Federal leads with the BJP accusation and includes more detailed BJP statements, giving the ruling party's framing more space early. Times Now also reports the BJP attack prominently but gives Congress's justification, citing Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, and Patel, equal weight near the end. Neither source provides independent analysis or third-party context on the 1937 resolution's history or the ongoing parliamentary law mandating the full song. A careful reader should note both outlets report the political clash symmetrically, but The Federal's lede and additional BJP quotes tilt its centre of gravity toward the government's attack. The next flashpoint is any parliamentary or legal challenge to the Congress decision. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 neutral - thefederal.com (pro government) Leads with BJP's 'new Muslim League' accusation and gives it more space than Congress's response - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Reports BJP attack prominently but also gives Congress's full justification and rebuttal equal weight This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-20T06:52:05+00:00. Tags: BJP, Congress Working Committee, KC Venugopal, Nitin Nabin, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Vande Mataram Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/congress-limits-vande-mataram-to-two-stanzas-bjp-hits-back/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/congress-limits-vande-mataram-to-two-stanzas-bjp-hits-back/#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/