Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge has challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to urge the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to sing Vande Mataram in Nagpur instead of its anthem Sadaa Vatsale.
Priyank Kharge, who has been at loggerheads with the RSS for several months, challenged Modi and Shah to demand that the RSS give up its anthem Sada Vatsale in favour of Vande Mataram.
He made these remarks while responding to a question on whether the CJP protests were diverting attention from the Vande Mataram Bill.
The Union government passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, giving Vande Mataram, the national song, the same protection as the National Anthem. This would make it a punishable offence to “intentionally prevent” the singing of the national anthem or national song, or to “cause disturbance” to an assembly engaged in such singing.
Kharge said Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore had deliberated in 1937 on which portions of the song should be sung publicly and why.
“So, are they all ‘anti-national’ now?” he asked.
Kharge also targeted the RSS, asking why its shakhas do not sing Vande Mataram instead of “Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume”, the RSS prayer.
“If the BJP/RSS is suddenly so concerned about Vande Mataram, let it begin with its own shakhas. Drop ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume’ and sing Vande Mataram instead,” he said.
He also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to recite the Vande Mataram in its entirety without the aid of a teleprompter, while questioning how many BJP leaders could recite the complete song.
Kharge argued that the focus on Vande Mataram was diverting attention from issues such as the economy, unemployment and the conduct of examinations.
“But the larger question is: why this manufactured obsession?” he asked in a post on X, adding that controversies over the song were “diversionary tactics” aimed at shifting public attention from issues facing the BJP.
He referred to what he described as “Chanda Chori”, repeated paper leaks, Nitin Nabin’s loss and unanswered questions surrounding PM CARES as issues that required attention.
“When accountability becomes uncomfortable, manufacture a controversy and change the conversation. Same trick by BJP, every time,” Kharge said.