SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Wednesday criticised alliance partner National Conference (NC) over the singing of the full version of the national song Vande Mataram at the inauguration of the International Film Festival.
National symbols, songs and traditions occupy a special place in the heart of every Indian. Their true strength lies in their ability to bind together a nation as diverse as ours.
It is therefore a matter of concern that our alliance partners chose to sing the full version of https://t.co/SyCgaJTgrc
— Tariq Hameed Karra (@TariqKarra) September 9, 2026
In a post on X, Karra said national symbols, songs and traditions hold a special place in the hearts of Indians, but argued that their significance is strengthened when they reflect the country’s diversity.
He said it was a matter of concern that the Congress’s alliance partner had chosen to sing the full version of Vande Mataram, which, according to him, disregarded the evolution of the song’s place in India’s national life after Independence and during the country’s constitutional journey.
Karra said the version adopted after Independence represented a balance between preserving the song’s historical and emotional significance and respecting India’s plural character and the constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience.
“National symbols acquire greater dignity when they accommodate India’s diversity, not when that diversity is asked to accommodate them,” he said.
The JKPCC chief maintained that his objection was not related to patriotism but to the manner in which national symbols should be expressed in a diverse constitutional democracy.
“It is about the constitutional temperament with which patriotism in a diverse Republic deserves to be expressed. Our national symbols should make every Indian feel equally at home,” he said.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq responded by pointing to a rendition of the full national song at an event in Congress-ruled Karnataka in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
Jenab @TariqKarra Sb, please take a look at your congress CM’s and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you! https://t.co/5e3herjE87 pic.twitter.com/JEYjTLrmID
— Tanvir Sadiq (@tanvirsadiq) September 9, 2026
Sharing a video of the rendition on X, Sadiq addressed Karra and said: “Jenab @TariqKarra Sb, please take a look at your congress CM’s and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you! (sic)”
The exchange comes amid a wider political debate over the protocol governing the national song. According to the information provided, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines in January 2026 requiring all six stanzas of Vande Mataram to be played or sung at official events.
The Congress had opposed the mandate and maintained that only the first two stanzas would be sung at party gatherings.
