Vande Mataram Row Reignites As BJP Accuses Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress Of Communalising National Song

As the Central government is set to commemorate 150 years of Vande Mataram, the national song of India, a long-standing row is yet again ignited, with the BJP and Congress engaged in a political slugfest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend a mass recital of the full version of the national song at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium on Friday, to mark the start of celebrations at 150 historic sites across India.

The BJP has described the campaign as a "festival of nationalism." The campaign will run until Constitution Day on November 26.

Meanwhile, the BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan has accused India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru of communalising the song from the pre-Independence era.

He alleged that in 1937, under Nehru’s presidency, the Congress 'brazenly pandered to its communal agenda' by adopting a truncated version of VandeMataram.

ALSO READ: Row Over Vande Mataram In J-K: Why Muslim Groups Are Against Recitation Of National Song In Kashmir Schools?

He accused Nehru and Congress of omitting verses invoking Goddess Durga. In a post on X, Kesavan cited Nehru's correspondence with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and said that Nehru had written that the background of the song was "likely to irritate Muslims."

He said, "It is imperative for our younger generation to know how the Congress party brazenly pandering to its communal agenda under the Presidentship of Nehru, adopted only a truncated VandeMataram as the party’s national song in its 1937 Faizpur Session, while PM Narendra Modi ji today will inaugurate the 150th year commemoration & participate in the mass recital of the full version of our glorious VandeMataram across the nation."

"The Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru, citing religious grounds, deliberately removed stanzas of VandeMataram which hailed Goddess Ma Durga," he wrote.

Kesavan shares Nehru's Correspondence with Shubhash Chandra Bose

Kesavan shared Nehru's letter in his post, saying, "In a letter dated Sep 1, 1937, Nehru spitefully writes that anybody considering the words in VandeMataram as anything to do with a Goddess was absurd. He also derisively opines that VandeMataram is not suitable as a national song."

It is imperative for our younger generation to know how the Congress party brazenly pandering to its communal agenda under the Presidentship of Nehru, adopted only a truncated Vande Mataram as the party’s national song in its 1937 Faizpur Session , while PM @narendramodi ji today… pic.twitter.com/13NBta11OV

— C.R.Kesavan (@crkesavan) November 7, 2025

He added, "The Congress committed the historic sin and blunder of linking the song with religion. Congress under Nehru, citing religious grounds, deliberately removed stanzas of VandeMataram which hailed Goddess Ma Durga".

ALSO READ: 150 Years Of Vande Mataram: PM Modi Urges Nationwide Celebration On Nov 7, Hails Poem As 'Emotion Beyond Words'

Sharing details of another letter, Kesavan wrote, "On Oct 20, 1937, Nehru wrote to Netaji Bose claiming that the background of VandeMataram was likely to irritate Muslims. He went on to say that there does seem to be substance regarding the outcry against VandeMataram and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it".

"In 1937 if Nehru as Congress President blanked out the mention of Goddess Ma Durga by truncating VandeMataram, Rahul Gandhi in March 2024 maliciously remarked ‘ There is a word called Shakti in Hindu Dharma and we are fighting against Shakti’."

Slamming Rahul Gandhi, he added, "The Hindu Virodhi mentality of Nehru finds a pungent echo in Rahul Gandhi who recently demeaned and maligned the sacred Chatth Puja as a drama, hurting the sentiments of crores of devotees."