Abdullahs stand for full Vande Mataram; Congress tells ally to honour wisdom of freedom fighters

NEW DELHI: The Congress and its INDIA bloc ally National Conference (NC) appeared to be at variance over the full rendition of the national song Vande Mataram, with the Congress on Tuesday saying it would like its allies to honour the wisdom and judgment of the freedom fighters and stand with the party in singing only the version of the song they had adopted. The party's assertion came after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah stood for the entire song during its inaugural rendition at the International Film Festival in Srinagar on Tuesday. The Abdullahs were seen standing throughout the song's full three-minute rendition, in line with the Union Home Ministry's new guidelines. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, expressed displeasure, saying that the full version of Vande Mataram sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that India's freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured. Last month, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided to abide by the 1937 resolution on Vande Mataram and sing only the first two stanzas of the song at all party events henceforth. Tagging a video of the full version of the song being sung at the event, Venugopal said on X, 'The full version of Vande Mataram sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India.'