NC-Congress Spar Over Vande Mataram Full Rendition At IFFJK

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Differences between alliance partners National Conference (NC) and Congress came to the fore on Wednesday after the full version of Vande Mataram was played at the inauguration of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK), prompting criticism from the Congress and a sharp response from the NC.

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The unabridged version of the national song was played at the official event on Monday in the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah.

The Congress criticised the decision, with Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Tariq Hamid Karra saying the full rendition disregarded the“considered evolution” of the song's place in India's national life.

Karra said national symbols should reflect India's constitutional temperament and remain sensitive to the country's plural ethos.

The issue, he said, was“not about patriotism” but about the manner in which patriotism should be expressed in a diverse republic.

“National symbols acquire greater dignity when they accommodate India's diversity, not when that diversity is asked to accommodate them,” Karra said in a post on X.

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The NC, however, defended the playing of the full version, saying government protocol and party ideology should be treated separately.

NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said Parliament had adopted the national song and therefore playing it at an official government event was a statutory obligation.

“The National Conference has a clear stance. When Parliament has adopted it, playing Vande Mataram becomes a statutory obligation and that is what the government did,” Sadiq told reporters.

He also said that nobody would be forced to sing the national song, adding that those who wished to sing it could do so.

Sadiq subsequently hit back at Karra by sharing videos of Independence Day functions in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where the full version of Vande Mataram was played.

“Jenab Tariq Karra saheb, please take a look at your Congress CMs and share your valuable thoughts with everyone,” Sadiq posted on X.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah later shared Sadiq's statements on the social media platform.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in January 2026 regarding the singing of the national song. The guidelines provide for all six stanzas of Vande Mataram to be played or sung at official events.

Congress had opposed the mandate and maintained that only the first two stanzas would be sung at party gatherings.

Karra, meanwhile, invoked the Congress Working Committee's 1937 resolution, which adopted a truncated version of the song while taking into account India's religious diversity.

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The Congress has six MLAs in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and provides outside support to the NC-led government in the Union Territory.

The exchange marks a fresh public disagreement between the two parties, which are allies in Jammu and Kashmir, with the controversy over the national song bringing differences over constitutional and political considerations into the open.

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