On Vande Mataram Row, Congress' 'Stand Upright' Retort To Omar Abdullah

The Congress-Omar Abdullah back-and-forth over the full rendition of Vande Mataram in Jammu and Kashmir intensified on Friday, with the party's J&K chief describing the chief minister's comment on the row as "detached from reality".

The full version of the national song was recently played at an event in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting objections from the Congress, which advised Abdullah to stick to just the first two paragraphs. The National Conference leader, however, rejected the advice, pointing out that the full rendition of Vande Mataram at official events is mandatory under the law, and violations can attract punitive action.

"Does Congress want Kashmiris to be thrown in jail on this issue?" Abdullah said.

The J&K Congress chief, Tariq Hameed Karra, reacted to his ally's curt remark, saying he expected the government of Jammu and Kashmir to "stand upright".

"How did the people of Jammu & Kashmir come into the picture when our expectations were clearly and exclusively from the government of Jammu & Kashmir? The public has nothing to do with this debate. It is the government that is expected to stand upright," Karra said.

Asking two-pointed questions to the chief minister, he asked: "Did a single person in Kerala go to jail when its government chose to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at the Independence Day parade?"

Also read: "Want Kashmiris In Jail?" Omar Abdullah Snaps At Congress On Full Vande Mataram

"Are we wrong to expect our chief minister to be equally capable of standing up for secular and inclusive values, as the chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and now even Karnataka and Telangana have done by limiting Vande Mataram to the first two stanzas at state events?" he added.

The Congress advocates singing only the first two paragraphs of the pre-Independence song. It claims the full version does not align with the secular ethos envisaged in the Constitution.

The central government insists that the full version must be sung. Earlier this year, it made it mandatory to sing all six stanzas before Jana Gana Mana at all government events, schools, and official programmes.

Earlier this week, Abdullah and his father, Farooq Abdullah, stood through the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the inaugural International Film Festival in Srinagar.

Their gesture drew the ire of senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, who, in a post on X, objected to the playing of all six stanzas at the opening ceremony of the film festival in Srinagar.

The Congress supports the Omar Abdullah government from the outside and has repeatedly refused to join the cabinet, indicating a rift between the two allies.