National conference, congress barb exchange after Omar, Farooq means full version of Vande Mataram

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with National Conference Chairman Farooq Abdullah. File | Photo credit: Imran Nissar

The ruling National Conference (NC) and its ally Congress traded barbs on Wednesday over the NC leadership’s decision to stand behind all stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram after it was played at the inauguration of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) in Srinagar on the 7th.

J&K Congress Chief Tariq Hameed Karra in his post on X questioned the decision of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah stand for all the verses of the song.

“National symbols, songs and traditions occupy a special place in the heart of every Indian. Their real strength lies in their ability to unite a nation as diverse as ours. It is therefore disturbing that our alliance partners have chosen to sing the full version of Vande Mataram without taking into account the considered evolution of the song’s place in India’s national life, but not only through the version it adopted during the freedom movement journey adopted by the Republic. preservation of the historic…” said Mr. Kara.

Mr Karra’s post followed a statement by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on social media, who posted a video of a ceremony in Srinagar in which NC leaders stood behind all the slokas.

“The full version of Vande Mataram fits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralistic ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India. For us, the considered judgment of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Acharya Narendra Dev small, Jpalao Narendra Dev, JpalaoNaji A no B part on the advice of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore – remains paramount,” said Mr. Venugopal.

Honor to the freedom fighters

In a post, the congressional leader said: “We would respectfully and humbly ask that our allies honor the wisdom and judgment of our freedom fighters and stand with us in singing only the version of this beautiful and historic song that they have adopted. This version was deliberately chosen so that the song would not be shared – a threat as real today as it was then. We stand by this as we support the inclusive character of our secular Republic.”

The Congress’s posts on social media platforms drew a sharp response from NC leaders. NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq shared videos of the swearing-in ceremony attended by the Congress chief minister and asked Mr Karra to comment.

NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said, “NC’s official position is that it does not vote for either the first two stanzas or the six stanzas of the national anthem. But it is a constitutional duty and every constitutional office holder must accept it, be it CM, MP or anyone else.”

Referring to the videos from the Congress-ruled states of Karnataka and Telangana, Mr. Dar said, “The Chief Ministers stand behind all the six slokas. But we don’t want to turn it into a controversy. We are not here to fight the Congress.”

Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also criticized the NC. “Rahul Gandhi stood up on every key issue, his ally J&K NC backed down and rolled out a red carpet for BJP. No condemnation of Waqf Amendment Bill. No condemnation of SIR fraud. Substitution of EVM tampering fears. Vande Mataram amendment passed. INDIA bloc in elections, BJP-urRehman Waqf silent lawmaker in practice Parra.

Published – 9 Sep 2026 23:21 IST