The Union Home Minister in the Rajya Sabha accused the Congress party and the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of ‘dividing’ the song, the beginning of ‘appeasement politics’ that led to India’s Partition
The “division” of the national song, Vande Mataram, and the Congress party’s “politics of appeasement” had led to the Partition, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, opening the discussion on the 150th anniversary of the national song in the Rajya Sabha. Countering the Opposition’s allegation that the discussion was being organised in view of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly election, he claimed that such remarks were aimed at diminishing the importance of the national song.
Several Congress leaders had insulted the Vande Mataram, and ended its recital in Parliament, Mr. Shah alleged. Mr. Shah should to authenticate his claim, Congress general secretary and Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh said. Mr. Shah later sent in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman, citing nine instances from 2018 till 2025 during which Congress leaders allegedly insulted the national song.
The Vande Mataram was the “mantra” (chant) that awakened India’s cultural nationalism and energised the freedom struggle. “Yesterday, some MPs in the Lok Sabha questioned the need to discuss Vande Mataram. The need for discussion…was as relevant when the song was written, during the freedom movement, [is as relevant] today, and will be as relevant in 2047, when the ‘Viksit Bharat’ will be achieved,” Mr. Shah said.
The Minister did not name Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had posed this question during the discussion on the national song in the Lok Sabha on Monday (December 8, 2025). The government was more interested in discussing the past than present issues affecting citizens, Ms. Gandhi had said.
“Some people are saying Vande Mataram is being discussed because elections are coming in West Bengal… They are trying to reduce the importance of Vande Mataram by linking it to the Bengal election,” Mr. Shah said.
The Minister said the song was written years after India tolerated “Islamic attacks”, and the British tried to impose a new culture on the country.
He also accused the Congress party and the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of “dividing” the song. “On the 50th anniversary of Vande Mataram, in 1937, Jawaharlal Nehru divided it into two, and limited it to two stanzas. This was the way the Congress honoured the Vande Mataram,” Mr. Shah said, leading to protests from Opposition MPs. It was the beginning of “appeasement politics”, and led to the Partition of India.
“If they had not divided the song into two for ‘appeasement politics’, India would also not have been partitioned,” he said, leading to more uproar from the Opposition benches.