Lok Sabha clears Vande Mataram Bill as DMK joins debate, opposes it

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed a bill making any insult to the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence, with the Lok Sabha clearing the legislation amid din.

In a politically significant contrast, the DMK opposed the bill and participated in the brief debate, while the rest of the Opposition continued its protest over the violence against students' issue, leaving the House with only three speakers, including two from the Tamil Nadu-based party and erstwhile ally of the Congress, before the legislation was approved by voice vote.

The bill was passed by voice vote after only BJP MP Sambit Patra and DMK MPs Kanimozhi and A Raja participated in the discussion. Opposition amendments were rejected by the House. After the bill was passed, DMK MP A Raja tore papers and flung them towards the Well as sloganeering continued, following which the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.


Opposing the legislation, Kanimozhi described it as a "Hindutva agenda masquerading as nationalism". She argued that the law violated federalism and secularism, alleging that the government was attempting to make all six stanzas of Vande Mataram compulsory despite the Constituent Assembly having accepted only the first two stanzas for official purposes.

Patra, defending the legislation, said previous Congress governments had failed to accord Vande Mataram the respect due to it despite recognising it as the national song.

The legislation became the first bill to be passed by both Houses during the ongoing Monsoon Session, which has otherwise witnessed repeated disruptions as Opposition parties pressed for a discussion on the alleged violence against students.

The government asserted that the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, grants Vande Mataram the same legal protection as the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by making any insult to the national song a criminal offence.

Replying to the brief debate, Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai accused the Congress of denying Vande Mataram the respect it deserved during its decades in power due to "appeasement politics". He said the Narendra Modi government was now according to the national song its rightful honour.