Srinagar, September 9: The National Conference (NC) and Congress have locked horns over the playing of the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’ at the ongoing International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK), exposing fresh differences between the two parties that support the Omar Abdullah-led government.
The unabridged national song was played during the festival in the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah on Monday, prompting strong objections from Congress leaders.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq defended the move on Wednesday, saying the government was bound by official protocol and that nobody would be compelled to sing the song.
“The National Conference has a clear stance. When Parliament has adopted it, playing ‘Vande Mataram’ becomes a statutory obligation and that is what the government did,” Sadiq told reporters.
He also pointed to official functions in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where, he said, the complete version had been played.
“As far as the party’s stand is concerned, anyone who wants to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ can do so and no one will be forced,” Sadiq said.
The Congress had objected to the playing of the unabridged version, with party general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal saying it was at odds with the country’s pluralist ethos.
Venugopal on Tuesday shared a video from the film festival on X and said the unabridged version “sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India”.
He urged alliance partners to respect the Congress Working Committee’s 1937 decision to adopt a truncated version of the song, arguing that the decision was intended to accommodate India’s religious diversity.
“With respect and humility, we would like our allies to honour 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 adopted,” Venugopal said.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra also criticised the NC’s position, saying national symbols should reflect the country’s constitutional and plural character.
“The adopted version represented a conscious balance, preserving historic significance while remaining sensitive to India’s plural ethos,” Karra said in a post on X.
“National symbols acquire greater dignity when they accommodate India’s diversity, not when that diversity is asked to accommodate them,” he added.
Sadiq hit back by tagging Karra in a post featuring videos of Independence Day functions in Karnataka and Telangana where the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’ was played.
“Jenab Tariq Karra saheb, please take a look at your Congress CMs and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you!” Sadiq wrote.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issuing guidelines in January 2026 laying down protocol for the national song, including provisions for playing or singing all six stanzas at official events.
The Congress, however, has opposed the broader mandate at its own party functions and maintained that only the first two stanzas should be sung.
The latest exchange adds to differences between the NC and Congress, which has six MLAs in the 90-member J&K Assembly and extends outside support to the NC-led government.
