Vande Mataram sung in full at AICC HQ; dramatic scenes unfold during rendition

NEW DELHI: Vande Mataram was sung in full during the Independence Day celebrations at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi, despite interventions by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress had taken a different position on the Centre's decision to have Vande Mataram sung in full. During the rendition at the AICC headquarters, Rahul Gandhi was seen turning towards Kharge, while Kharge also intervened.

The development came amid the ongoing controversy over the full rendition of Vande Mataram in Congress-ruled Kerala, where the Congress-led government has maintained that only the first two stanzas should be sung at state government functions.

However, at the Independence Day celebrations at the AICC headquarters, party leaders intervened while workers continued singing Vande Mataram in full.