Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday (August 21, 2026) hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah for his “anti-national” barb at the Congress over its decision to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram, asking whether Narendra Modi as the Gujarat Chief Minister or Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister sang its full version.
The row over Vande Mataram intensified on Thursday (August 20) with Mr. The war of words followed the Congress Working Committee’s decision on Wednesday (August 19) to sing only two stanzas of the national song, instead of its full rendition. Ramesh said the 1937 resolution recommending that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at national gatherings represented the considered position of several leading figures of the freedom movement.
“You anti-national then? Exposing your vote-bank politics! Mr. Defending the Congress decision, Mr.
Sibal said. Shah launching a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress, alleging that its decision to sing just two stanzas of the national song was “anti-national” and aimed at appeasing its vote bank in defiance of the law. The Congress hit back, with senior leader Jairam Ramesh calling BJP leaders “fraudulent nationalists”.
