Congress to stick to 1937 resolution on Vande Mataram

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee on Wednesday 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.

The Congress decision came after the BJP accused its leaders of insulting Vande Mataram by not singing the full version at party events.

Addressing a press conference after the over-four-hour meeting of the CWC, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the party's stand is very clear, and it stands behind the decision of its top leadership in 1937.


"There is no confusion on that. Congress president categorically said so yesterday in Goa. Today we also discussed the issue in the meeting of the CWC. Our stand is very clear that the 1937 resolution decided in which Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel - the top-most leadership of the party at that point of time were present.

"Whatever the decision they took, we have decided that. We are very clear that our Congress party workers will do that only. This is our decision," he told reporters.

Asked whether only two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at party events, he said, "Yes, first two stanzas."

Venugopal said singing of Vande Mataram and the National Anthem is an emotional issue for the Congress, but for the BJP, it is a political matter.

He also said that the BJP's criticism of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's objection to the singing of the full National Song was merely a distraction tactic. "This is the version of the BJP to distract from national issues of paper leak and 'chanda chori'," he said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that on October 28, 1937, a resolution was passed on Vande Mataram at a CWC meeting in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subas Chandra Bose, and Maulana Azad at the suggestion of Rabindranath Tagore.

"There was a discussion on that resolution in today's meeting of CWC... Congress president also read out a part of the earlier resolution. There is no controversy on this issue. This issue is being made out deliberately as today's issue is youth, examinations, 'chanda chori' and failure of foreign policy," he said.

"Our stand has been clear from day one that the October 28, 1937, and our first president Rajendra Prasad said that the National Anthem will be 'Jana gana man...' and Vande Mataram will be our National Song," Ramesh said.

A day after the BJP accused him of singing "incomplete" Vande Mataram, on Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hit back at the party, saying he sang the same version that was sung by Mahatma Gandhi, Patel, Nehru, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Talking to reporters in South Goa, Kharge said that if singing that version of the National Song was a crime, cases should also be filed against these leaders.

The ruling BJP has alleged that the Congress chief sang an "incomplete" version of Vande Mataram at a public meeting in South Goa on Monday, and accused the grand old party of disrespecting the National Song.