Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s home minister, took to the podium on Tuesday, daring BJP leaders Vijayendra and R Ashoka to recite every stanza of Vande Mataram without a teleprompter or paper, and warned that if they did he would resign. He framed the dispute as a showdown over national identity, calling the central demand for all six stanzas a challenge to the historic 1937 resolution that limits the song to two stanzas.
The clash stems from a July 9, 2026 directive by the Union Home Ministry, released when India marked the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, which orders all six stanzas to be sung before the national anthem when the two are played together. The state government, however, adhered to its own decision made on August 19 to follow the older 1937 rule, a move the BJP has slammed as appeasement politics.
In response, advocate Girish Bharadwaj filed a public‑interest litigation before the Karnataka High Court, claiming the state’s two‑stanza order violates the union’s strict compliance letter dated July 9 and seeks its quashing. The petition cites the Ministry’s instructions that the official version of the national song must be the complete six‑stanza composition during mass singing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have denounced the state’s policy, with BJP spokespersons accusing Congress of undermining the national anthem’s integrity. The case adds fresh heat to an already fraught debate over how a founding symbol should be treated in contemporary India.
The Karnataka High Court is slated to hear arguments next month, and the outcome could force the state to either adopt the full six‑stanza version or justify its continued two‑stanza practice. Meanwhile, the controversy has escalated political tensions across the state, with both parties rallying supporters around the issue.