'Grave betrayal of secular ethos'; LoP Pinarayi Vijayan attacks Congress over Vande Mataram rendition

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The states of Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana sang the full version of Vande Mataram, which opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan said exposed the soft Hindutva approach of the Congress party. He also stated in a Facebook post that a similar incident took place at a ceremony held at the Forest Department headquarters in Kerala.

PINARAYI VIJAYAN:

“The Congress clearly demonstrated that its commitment is not to India's secular nationalism, but to the Hindutva agenda of the RSS. Earlier, Vande Mataram was sung in its entirety at the swearing-in ceremony of the UDF cabinet. Since the religious imagery in the song did not suit a pluralistic society, the Congress Working Committee itself decided in 1937 that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at the platforms of the national movement.

When the Constituent Assembly declared Vande Mataram as the national song in 1950, it was referring to the first two stanzas. The Congress has thrown its own secular tradition into the dustbin by singing the song in its entirety. The Supreme Court clarified in March 2026 in the Mohammad Saeed Noori case that singing Vande Mataram at government functions is not mandatory under any circumstances.

According to the newly amended law of the Centre, not singing this is not a punishable offence in any way. Despite having no legal obligation, singing the entire song under the RSS's orders is a grave betrayal of the secular ethos. Pinarayi Vijayan also clarified that the Congress's stance of mimicking the Sangh Parivar agenda exactly shows how the grand old party has turned into the Sangh's B team.”