‘Appeasement, Partition Mindset’: Amit Shah Attacks Congress Over Vande Mataram Row

Last Updated:August 20, 2026, 12:42 IST

Amit Shah accused Congress of returning to “Jinnah-era appeasement” and said the party’s 1937 decision had contributed to the circumstances that eventually led to Partition.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Amit Shah On Vande Mataram Row: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched a scathing attack at the Congress over its resolution on Vande Mataram, accusing the party of reviving “appeasement politics” and calling its decision “anti-national”.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has passed a resolution on Vande Mataram, with the party deciding to retain the singing of only the first two stanzas of the national song.

Reacting to the decision, the Union Minsiter said that the Congress had repeated the stand it took in 1937, when, according to him, Vande Mataram was divided for political appeasement.

“Yesterday, Congress Working Committee took an anti-national decision. Following their 1937 resolution, Congress decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram. I want to remind the nation that in 1937, by dividing Vande Mataram for the appeasement of Muslims, the Congress laid the foundation for the partition of the country,” he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

‘Congress Insulted Freedom Fighters’

He further claimed that the grand old party’s decision not only insulted Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s composition but also the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during India’s freedom struggle.

He accused the Congress of returning to what he described as “Jinnah-era appeasement” and said the party’s 1937 decision had contributed to the circumstances that eventually led to Partition.

“Congress’s decision confirms its policy of appeasement. They have not only insulted this creation of Bankim Babu but also lakhs of people who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country. Today, the Congress party is implementing its 1937 resolution but rejecting a law made by the Parliament,” he said.

Shah also accused the Congress of rejecting a law passed by Parliament while following its earlier 1937 position on Vande Mataram.

“I am surprised that the Congress party, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, is once again taking forward appeasement politics,” Shah said.

Shah Says Modi Government ‘Corrected’ Congress’ Mistake

The Union Home Minister further said the Narendra Modi government had sought to correct what he described as Congress’ historical mistake and provide a legal framework to strengthen national unity.

He urged people to come together and oppose what he called the Congress’ politics of appeasement.

“The country has once made the mistake of letting Vande Mataram be divided into two parts, and we have faced its consequences. Now, the country should come together against this decision of the Congress party and say that their politics of appeasement will not work anymore. BJP condemns this decision of the Congress party,” he said.

Congress Resolution

Shah’s remarks came after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday decided to abide by the 1937 resolution of its highest decision-making body on Vande Mataram, saying only the first two stanzas of the National Song will be sung at party events in future.

After a meeting of the CWC that lasted more than four hours, party general secretary KC Venugopal said there was no confusion over its position and that Congress would follow the decision taken by its top leadership in 1937.

Venugopal said the 1937 decision was taken in the presence of senior leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel.

“There is no confusion on that. Congress president categorically said so yesterday in Goa. Today we also discussed the issue in the meeting of the CWC. Our stand is very clear,” the Congress senior leader said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Key Questions Answered

Powered by

Ask News18

Why did Congress decide to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram?

The Congress Working Committee decided to continue singing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, reviving a 1937 resolution. This decision was made amid a political dispute with the BJP over the full rendition of the song.

Powered by

Ask News18

About the Author

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre…Read More

Read More