The dispute gained momentum after Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor questioned the Union government's directive requiring the complete rendition of the National Song at official functions. The BJP accused the Congress of once again yielding to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally in the UDF coalition.
Defending the state government's position, Tharoor said on Tuesday that respect for Vande Mataram did not require the full rendition of all its verses at every public event.
“Vande Mataram is the National Song, and we stand up in respect when it is sung. The first verse, or the first couple of verses, is something most people know by heart,” Tharoor said.
He further criticized the Union government's directive, stating, “Now they want all five verses to be sung at the beginning of every event and again at the end. I think that is an unnecessary imposition.” Tharoor argued that the Centre's instruction amounted to an unnecessary mandate.
The BJP reacted strongly to the remarks. Party National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress of continuing what he described as a historical compromise linked to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
“This is the same mindset that made Nehru cut the Vande Mataram into two stanzas. Nehru did it under pressure from Jinnah, and today the Congress government in Kerala is doing this under the pressure of the present Muslim League that is with them in the government as an ally,” Poonawalla said in a video message posted on social media platform X.
Rejecting Tharoor's criticism, Poonawalla also asserted that the complete version of Vande Mataram contains six stanzas and not five.
“Shashi Tharoor says it is an unnecessary imposition to sing all the stanzas. Vande Mataram in its full version has six stanzas, and yet you are calling it an unnecessary imposition,” he said.
BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also targeted the Congress, accusing the party of undermining national symbols for political considerations.
“Vande Mataram is India's National Song and not a political choice, not optional. If states start selectively ignoring national protocols for political appeasement, the idea of national unity itself gets weakened,” Bhandari wrote on X.
“The problem is not with Vande Mataram. The problem is with those who are uncomfortable saying it. Shame on Congress. Congress is the Muslim League Maoist Congress,” he added.
The controversy was initially raised by Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as a breach of established protocol during the Assembly session.
Speaking to reporters after addressing the Assembly, Arlekar said his office had insisted that Vande Mataram should be rendered in full whenever the Governor was present.
“We had insisted that whenever the Governor is present, as per protocol, Vande Mataram has to be sung fully. It was not sung, but only played by the band. Yet they could have played it fully. I have spoken to the Assembly Speaker. Let us see how things develop,” he said.
The Governor clarified that Raj Bhavan had specifically requested that the National Song be sung rather than merely played instrumentally.
“Raj Bhavan had insisted that the song be sung and not played in full,” Arlekar said, adding that the matter had been discussed with Assembly Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a Union government directive issued in October last year to mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. The directive asked states to ensure that the song is rendered in its entirety during official functions.
Since the issuance of the directive, the issue has emerged as another point of contention in the broader political confrontation between the Narendra Modi-led Union government and several states governed by non-BJP parties.
Responding to the Governor's criticism on May 29, Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan maintained that there was no statutory requirement mandating the complete rendition of the National Song.
“Singing the Vande Mataram in full is not mandatory as there is no law enacted in that regard by Parliament. There are only some guidelines issued regarding the National Song,” Satheesan said.
BJP leader V Muraleedharan also criticized the Congress-led opposition, accusing it of yielding to ideological allies and disrespecting the National Song.
“Satheesan has surrendered before the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Jamaat-e-Islami. The National Song has been insulted on its 150th anniversary. The government did not abide by the Union government's directive that the entire version of Vande Mataram should be sung during programmes attended by the Governor,” Muraleedharan wrote on X on May 29.
“The government action shows that it has attested to the argument of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Jamaat-e-Islami that the National Song is not compatible with secularism. Satheesan should clarify since when Congress has begun to distance itself from Vande Mataram,” he added.
Although the issue initially centered on the National Song not being rendered in full during the inaugural Assembly session, Tharoor's description of the directive as an “unnecessary imposition” transformed the matter into a wider political confrontation. The controversy has intensified the debate over national symbols, constitutional conventions, and the balance between Union directives and state-level interpretations of protocol.
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