Vande Mataram row disrupts second day of Himachal Assembly Session

Shimla: A dispute over the singing of Vande Mataram and the National Anthem rocked the House on Saturday, the second day of the Monsoon Session, as both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP protested outside the Legislative Assembly on the premises of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha.

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the Vidhan Sabha will not run according to the Congress Working Committee's (CWC) agenda, and the BJP will not tolerate the insult of Vande Mataram.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri accused the BJP of 'insulting' the National Anthem, trying to make the Vidhan Sabha an arena for politics, and disrupting the proceedings.


The Congress leaders claimed that Vidhan Sabha proceedings are run according to the rules, not by 'Dhakkashahi' (bullying). They alleged that the behaviour of BJP members is condemnable and that the Congress Party respects Vande Mataram.

The BJP members alleged that the Congress members insulted Vande Mataram. They pointed out that the Prime Minister recited the full song from the Red Fort on Independence Day, but the CWC recited only two stanzas in Delhi at its party event, which they claimed is a violation of the law.

The CWC said the party has decided to abide by the 1937 resolution of its highest decision-making body on Vande Mataram, saying only two stanzas of the National Song would be sung at all party events henceforth.

On Friday, the Monsoon Session began on a stormy note. When opposition BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar raised the Vande Mataram issue and sought permission from Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania to speak on it, the Speaker clarified that the law regarding the national song, making it mandatory to sing the full version, does not apply to state assemblies and is intended only for government functions.

However, he assured that the full version of Vande Mataram would be sung at the conclusion of the Assembly session.

Thakur also accused the state government of throttling democracy. He said the Shimla Zila Parishad elections have not been held even after three months, and now the High Court has fixed September 10, 2026 for the election.