Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday (August 16, 2026) accused the Congress of insulting the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ and demanded that the party apologise to the people and to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who wrote the song.
He said Vajpayee’s government connected villages with roads, built national highways and launched several initiatives during its tenure. Addressing a public meeting in Chittorgarh, Mr. Shah alleged that during the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters, party leader Sonia Gandhi asked Vande Mataram to be stopped midway through the song. He alleged that during the Independence Day programme at the Congress headquarters, Sonia Gandhi had asked the party president to stop the song midway. He also credited Vajpayee with establishing a separate ministry for tribal development. Shah’s leadership and Rajasthan was also benefiting from it.
Earlier reporting noted: Congress insulted Vande Mataram on Independence Day, should apologise to people: Amit Shah at Chittorgarh rally The Congress insulted Vande Mataram on Independence Day, and should apologise to the people, Union home minister Amit Shah said at a rally in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, on Sunday, August 16.
The Home Minister said the progress made in tribal welfare was reflected in the election of Droupadi Murmu as President of India, who came from a tribal family and rose to the top post. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has continued to give priority to tribal welfare. Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said the country’s borders were becoming safer under Mr. Earlier reporting noted: “The Congress forgot Vande Mataram out of greed for vote banks,” Shah alleged.
Earlier reporting noted: This came as leaders from Shah’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lodged a formal complaint against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at the Urwa police station in Karnataka on Sunday, following a controversy during the recitation of the national song Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Independence Day.
The Home Minister alleged that the Congress had forgotten Vande Mataram due to vote-bank politics.
