Amit Shah says Congress’s decision on rendering first two stanzas of Vande Mataram is ‘anti-national’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (August 20, 2026) launched a sharp attack on the Congress, alleging that its decision to render only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram reflected appeasement politics, disrespected martyrs and undermined national unity.

In a statement to the media, Mr. Shah termed the Congress Working Committee’s move on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) to feature only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party functions, in line with the All India Congress Committee resolution of 1937, as “anti-national”.

“I want to remind the entire country that in 1937, the Congress party, for the sake of Muslim appeasement, split Vande Mataram into two pieces, laying the foundation for the country’s Partition, and from there, the two-nation theory gained strength. Ultimately, the country was partitioned, and Pakistan was born,” Mr. Shah said.