The Congress’ Independence Day event in Delhi saw a controversy erupt on Saturday, with the BJP accusing Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the full version of Vande Mataram being played.
The Congress, however, insisted that Gandhi was only asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Independence Day Live Updates “Yet, a very strange, ironic, and unfortunate scene was witnessed. the party’s supreme leader Sonia Gandhi, ‘super-president’ Rahul Gandhi, and current president Mallikarjun Kharge were seen conversing with each other and beckoning someone in a manner that was highly peculiar, objectionable, and disrespectful While Vande Mataram was being sung at the Congress office. It indicates that the Congress party has, perhaps, still not been able to accept the national song Vande Mataram,” he added. “They eventually fell in line, and Vande Mataram was sung in full. For decades, the Gandhis and the Congress have displayed an uneasy relationship with the idea of a culturally confident, civilisationally rooted India. That discomfort stood exposed, ironically, on Independence Day,” Malviya alleged. Asserting that the full version of Vande Mataram was sung at the event, which was held at the party’s headquarters, the Congress maintained that Sonia Gandhi was merely asking for a chair for Kharge, who had been standing for a while. The Parliament also passed a Bill last month, which later received assent from the President, making intentionally obstructing, disrupting or preventing the singing of Vande Mataram a criminal offence. Gandhi was only asking for a chair for party chief Mallikarjun Kharge as he was standing for a while.
Earlier reporting noted: BJP claims Sonia ‘objected’ to full version of Vande Mataram at event, Congress denies charge The BJP on Saturday (August 15, 2026) accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of objecting to the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at the party’s Independence Day event, even as the Opposition party denied the charge. Certain mindsets never change from pre 1947 to post 1947, the senior BJP leader added.
Hitting out at the Congress, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resolve and in tune with the sentiments of crores of Indians, this is the first Independence Day where Vande Mataram has been sung in its entirety. Earlier reporting noted: Sharing video footage of the Congress’s event on X, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh said, “Mother, son and national president (of the Congress) seem to be upset by the rendering of full Vande Mataram.
Earlier reporting noted: The Congress asserted that there was no attempt to stop the singing of the full version of the national song and Ms.
