The BJP strongly criticised Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for his remarks on singing the full version of Vande Mataram during official events, accusing the Congress of yielding to the Muslim League’s stance.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Vande Mataram is India’s national song and cannot be treated as a matter of political convenience. He argued that selectively avoiding national traditions for political reasons weakens national unity. Referring to Tharoor’s statement that singing all the verses at official functions was unnecessary, Poonawalla pointed out that the song originally contains six stanzas and said describing it as an imposition was unacceptable.
He further alleged that the Congress had historically diluted the use of the national song under pressure from Muhammad Ali Jinnah, claiming that Jawaharlal Nehru had limited its recital to two stanzas to avoid offending Muslims. According to him, the Congress was once again adopting the same approach due to its alliance with the Muslim League in Kerala.
Another BJP spokesperson, Pradeep Bhandari, said the controversy was not about Vande Mataram itself, but about people who felt uncomfortable saying it.
Tharoor, speaking to reporters on Monday, had clarified that while everyone respected Vande Mataram, making the complete version mandatory at every official programme was difficult to justify.
