On the 80th Independence Day, even the full rendition of the national song Vande Mataram proved too much for the top leadership of the Congress. Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi. A video from the AICC headquarters has gone viral showing CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge appearing visibly uncomfortable as the complete Vande Mataram was being sung.
The clip captures the senior leaders gesturing and seemingly asking for the song to be halted after the second stanza — the traditional limit the Congress has long preferred. ‘Vande Mataram’ was sung in presence of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Rahul Gandhi, and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.
What Happened at Independence Day Celebration at AICC?
In the video, the top Congress leaders appear perfectly composed during the first stanza of the National Song. But the moment the second stanza begins, the mood shifts. Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge grow visibly restless. Their eyes dart toward the backstage, silently signalling the organisers to stop Vande Mataram. When the organisers fail to notice and the song continues, Sonia Gandhi escalates — raising her hand in a clear, urgent gesture, demanding that the National Song be halted at once.
This reflects the party’s long-standing practice of avoiding anything beyond the first two stanzas.
Despite their apparent intervention, the full national song continued and was played completely at the Congress headquarters in the presence of Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The moment has triggered sharp reactions across social media and political circles.
It’s yet another instance of the Congress’s deep-seated discomfort with the complete Vande Mataram, especially after the government made the singing of all six stanzas mandatory at official functions.
Congress leaders later claimed that Sonia Gandhi was merely asking for a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a long time. But the visual evidence and the timing of the gestures — precisely after the second stanza — have left many unconvi
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🚨CONTROVERSY: Sonia Gandhi Appears to Object to “Vande Mataram”
A video purportedly shows Sonia Gandhi gesturing to Congress workers to stop while Vande Mataram was being played. pic.twitter.com/qXRS2FYjjc
— The Analyzer (News Updates🗞️) (@Indian_Analyzer) August 15, 2026
Why Congress Leaders Want to Stop Vande Mataram After the Second Stanza?
In 1937 the Congress Working Committee decided that only those opening stanzas should be used at national gatherings, largely due to pressure from the Muslim League. According to the Muslim League and the Muslim leaders, the broader controversy centred on the later stanzas, which contain religious imagery and explicit references to Hindu goddesses such as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati; Muslim leaders had objected that these passages were religiously exclusionary.
On a day when the entire nation was proudly singing the full song — including at the Red Fort — the top brass of the grand old party appeared to want it cut short at their own headquarters. The video has once again put the spotlight on the Congress’s complicated relationship with the national song that once served as the battle cry of India’s freedom struggle.
AICC Directs State Units: Stick to First Two Stanzas of Vande Mataram on Independence Day
The AICC has instructed all state Congress units not to render anything beyond the second stanza of Vande Mataram on Independence Day. The directive has triggered questions over why the party wants to restrict the national song at a time when the country is marking Independence Day. The decision has also revived the long-running debate within the Congress over the portions of Vande Mataram that should be publicly rendered at official and party events.
