# BJP slams Congress over Vande Mataram row 2026-08-17T16:36:59+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attacked the Congress over the 'Vande Mataram' controversy. Sarma said the conduct of the Congress leadership during the rendition of the national song raised questions about how the party would govern if it returned to power. Chouhan, speaking in Rajasthan, accused Sonia Gandhi of committing a sin by showing disrespect to the national song. The row erupted after Gandhi was seen gesturing to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge while Vande Mataram was being played at the party's headquarters in Delhi on Independence Day. The BJP claims this was an attempt to stop the complete version. Chouhan demanded an apology and said refusing or stopping the singing of the national song will not be tolerated. Chouhan also announced that the Centre is preparing stricter laws against adulterated agricultural inputs. He said new Seed Act and Pesticide Act are being brought to protect farmers. He handed over allocation orders for Rs 3,473 crore for 2,89,000 rural houses under the PM Housing Scheme in Rajasthan for 2026-27. ## Coverage - ndtv.com - telanganatoday.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T17:07:46+00:00. Tags: BJP, Congress, Himanta Sarma, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/himanta-sarma-slams-sonia-rahul-gandhi-over-vande-mataram-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/himanta-sarma-slams-sonia-rahul-gandhi-over-vande-mataram-row/#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/