Karnataka Home Minister and senior Congress leader Priyank Kharge has mounted a fierce defense of the state administration’s mandate restricting the rendition of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas during official state government functions. Addressing a public gathering in Bengaluru, Kharge launched a direct political challenge against key opposition figures, daring Karnataka BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka to recite all six stanzas of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition by heart without referencing a paper or glancing at a teleprompter, declaring that he would tender his immediate resignation from his ministerial post if they succeeded. Taking sharp aim at the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge pointed out that the decision to sing only the opening two verses was a consensus historically established in 1937 by towering national figures including Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, questioning whether modern political leaders consider themselves greater architects of India’s traditions than the freedom icons themselves.
Central Directives, MHA Mandates, and High Court PIL Intensify the Battle Over Complete Verses
The political showdown traces back to earlier this year when the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), while commemorating the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, instructed states that all six stanzas of the national song should be sung during ceremonial occasions when played alongside the national anthem. While the Congress Working Committee reaffirmed its historical 1937 resolution on August 19 to restrict the rendition to two stanzas, the BJP termed the move appeasement politics. The escalating dispute reached the judicial corridors on Tuesday after advocate Girish Bhardwaj filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court challenging the state order. Citing a formal MHA advisory circulated to all states on July 9, 2026, the petitioner argued that the central government recognizes the complete six-stanza composition as the official national song, contending that the Karnataka government’s restriction contravenes national guidelines and urging the court to quash the state directive.