‘They have never sung…’: Kharge slams BJP, RSS as Vande Mataram completes 150 years

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday commemorated the 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’, stating that the national song had awakened the collective soul of the nation and became the rallying cry for freedom. In a message posted on the social media platform X, Kharge said Vande Mataram celebrates the unity and diversity of the country.

However, in the same breath, the veteran Congress leader hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claiming that they had never sung the national song in their shakhas or offices.

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Kharge wrote that the RSS, since its founding in 1925, had sought to avoid singing Vande Mataram, calling it deeply ironic, since the Sangh claims to be the self-proclaimed guardian of nationalism.

“… It is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism – the RSS and the BJP, have never sung Vande Mataram or our National Anthem Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices. Instead, they continue to sing Namaste Sada Vatsale, a song glorifying their organisations, not the nation. Since its founding in 1925, the RSS has avoided Vande Mataram, despite its universal reverence. Not once in its texts or literature does the song find mention,” Kharge posted on X.

He further went on to say that the Sangh Parivar has supported the Britishers against Indians during the freedom movement.

Sharing my message on the 150th Anniversary of India’s National Song – Vande Mataram

Today marks 150 years of Vande Mataram— India’s National Song, that awakened the collective soul of our nation and became the rallying cry for freedom. Composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay,… pic.x.com/toPYgckiiH

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 7, 2025

“It is a well-known fact that the RSS and Sangh Parivar supported the British against Indians in the National Movement, did not raise the National Flag for 52 years, abused the Constitution of India, burnt effigies of Bapu and Babasaheb Ambedkar, and, in the words of Sardar Patel, were involved in Gandhiji’s assassination,” the Congress president alleged.

On the other hand, the Congress party has always taken immense pride in both Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana. Both songs are sung with reverence at every Congress gathering and event, symbolising India’s unity and pride, he added.

“The Indian National Congress has been the proud flagbearer of Vande Mataram. It was during the 1896 session of the Congress in Calcutta, under the leadership of the then Congress President, Rahmatullah Sayani, that Vande Mataram was sung publicly for the first time by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. That moment infused new life into the freedom struggle. The Congress understood that the British Empire’s policy of divide and rule, manipulating religious, caste, and regional identities, was designed to break India’s unity. Against this, Vande Mataram rose as a song of unflinching strength, uniting all Indians in devotion to Bharat Mata,” the post read.

“The Congress Party reaffirms its unshakable faith in Vande Mataram, the eternal song of our motherland, the clarion call of our unity, and the voice of India’s undying spirit,” Kharge concluded.

Kharge’s remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the national song, alleged that some important verses of Vande Mataram were removed in 1937, which he said divided people and even influenced the path to India’s partition.

The PM further said that the same divisive thinking still exists today, and there are always voices trying to mislead or make people doubt themselves.