Vande Mataram row: Giriraj Singh calls Mani Shankar Aiyar Rahul's 'puppet'
Synopsis
A CWC resolution reaffirming an 87-year-old tradition on Vande Mataram has handed the BJP a fresh political cudgel. Union Minister Giriraj Singh's 'puppet and parrot' attack on Mani Shankar Aiyar is the loudest salvo yet — and with the Centre having just mandated full rendition in official protocol, the contrast could not be more deliberate.
Key Takeaways
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolved on 19 August to continue singing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, reaffirming a 1937 decision.
Mani Shankar Aiyar publicly endorsed the CWC resolution, citing the counsel of Rabindranath Tagore as the basis for the original decision.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh called Aiyar a 'puppet' and 'Rahul's parrot,' accusing the Congress of being 'anti-India.' Singh alleged the partial rendition was historically driven by 'pressure from the Muslim League.' The Centre has recently made the complete rendition of Vande Mataram part of official protocol, sharpening the political contrast.
A separate controversy had already erupted over senior Congress leaders' conduct during the national song at the party's Independence Day event at Indira Bhawan on 15 August .
A fresh political flashpoint over Vande Mataram erupted on 20 August in New Delhi, after senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar publicly endorsed the Congress Working Committee's (CWC) resolution to sing only the first two stanzas of the national song at party events — drawing a sharp 'puppet' jibe from Union Minister Giriraj Singh. The exchange has reignited a long-running debate over the rendition of Vande Mataram and Congress's position on it.
The CWC Resolution
A day earlier, the CWC resolved to reaffirm a tradition rooted in a 1937 party decision, under which only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram are recited at Congress gatherings. The decision carries added weight given that the Centre has recently made the complete rendition of the national song mandatory as part of official protocol — setting up a direct contrast between the ruling dispensation's position and the principal opposition party's.
Aiyar welcomed the CWC's stand, saying: 'I am very happy that yesterday the Congress decided in a firm manner that we will sing only the first two verses of Vande Mataram. Because in 1937, I believe, it was decided on the advice of gurudev Rabindranath Tagore that we would sing only the first two stanzas. And today, we are following the same path again.'
Giriraj Singh's Counterattack
Union Minister Giriraj Singh responded with pointed personal criticism, calling Aiyar 'a puppet' and 'Rahul's parrot.' Singh said: 'He is a puppet. He is Rahul's parrot. What Rahul Gandhi teaches him, he will say just that.'
Singh went further, framing the Congress stance as an affront to India's freedom struggle heritage. 'The people of the country will never forgive and never tolerate...because the Vande Mataram carries the soul of our revolutionary ancestors, and contains the culture and law of the land. This Vande Mataram will not be affected by your happiness or displeasure. It will be explained to every single person in the country, that Congress is anti-India,' he said.
BJP's Broader Attack on Congress
Singh also invoked the conduct of senior Congress leaders at the Independence Day event at Indira Bhawan, the party's headquarters in the national capital, where a controversy had erupted over their behaviour during the national song's rendition. 'The Congress has now been unmasked...Everyone tried to hide the actions of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge on August 15, but the wolf's skin has come off. And it has come off in their opposition to nation,' he said.
Singh further claimed that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram had been sung publicly from the outset, and alleged that any deviation — past or present — was 'due to pressure from the Muslim League.' He also drew a distinction between the historical Congress and its current form: 'After all, this Congress is not the one of which Mahatma Gandhi was a part. This is Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's Congress,' he remarked.
Background and Context
The row traces back to a 1937 CWC decision, reportedly taken on the counsel of poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, to limit the recitation of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas at Congress functions — a position the party has maintained for nearly nine decades. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has periodically used the issue to question Congress's nationalist credentials, and the latest episode follows a visible incident at Congress's own Independence Day celebrations. The controversy is unlikely to fade quickly, with both sides now firmly dug into their respective positions ahead of upcoming state elections.
Point of View
But this iteration is sharper than most — the Centre's move to mandate full rendition in official protocol gives the party a policy hook to go with the political attack. Congress's defence, grounded in a Tagore-endorsed 1937 precedent, is historically defensible but strategically awkward: few voters know the nuance, and 'anti-national' framing travels faster than archival citations. What is notable is that the BJP has chosen to personalise the attack on Aiyar rather than engage the CWC resolution on its merits — a sign that the goal is optics, not debate. The real question is whether Congress will hold its position publicly or quietly soften it as election season approaches.
NationPress
20 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Congress Working Committee's resolution on Vande Mataram?
The CWC resolved to continue a tradition established by a 1937 party decision, under which only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram are recited at Congress events. The original decision was reportedly taken on the advice of poet Rabindranath Tagore.
Why did Giriraj Singh call Mani Shankar Aiyar a 'puppet'?
Union Minister Giriraj Singh used the 'puppet' and 'parrot' description after Aiyar publicly welcomed the CWC's resolution on Vande Mataram. Singh alleged that Aiyar was merely repeating what Rahul Gandhi directed him to say.
What controversy surrounded Congress's Independence Day event?
A controversy erupted over the conduct of senior Congress leaders during the rendition of Vande Mataram at the party's Independence Day event at Indira Bhawan on 15 August. The BJP has cited this incident as evidence of Congress's stance toward the national song.
What is the BJP's position on Vande Mataram?
The BJP, through ministers like Giriraj Singh, insists all six stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung and has framed Congress's two-stanza position as 'anti-India.' The Centre has also recently mandated the complete rendition as part of official protocol.
Why has the 1937 CWC decision on Vande Mataram become relevant again?
The 1937 CWC decision, reportedly guided by Rabindranath Tagore, has resurfaced because the Centre's new official protocol requires the full rendition of Vande Mataram, directly contrasting with Congress's longstanding two-stanza practice. The CWC's reaffirmation of the old tradition has given the BJP fresh political ammunition.
