Vande Mataram row: Pinarayi slams Congress for 'soft-Hindutva' shift
Synopsis
Kerala's Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan called Congress the 'B-team of the RSS' after the party sang the full Vande Mataram at Independence Day functions across three states. His broadside — grounded in a 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution and a 2026 Supreme Court ruling — signals that the Left-Congress rivalry in Kerala is sharpening well ahead of the next state election.
Key Takeaways
Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Congress of embracing 'soft-Hindutva' after it sang the full Vande Mataram at Independence Day functions on 15 August .
The full version was sung at the AICC headquarters and in Congress-governed Karnataka , Himachal Pradesh , and Telangana .
Vijayan cited a 1937 Congress Working Committee resolution limiting official renditions to the song's first two stanzas.
He also invoked the Supreme Court 's March 2026 ruling in the Mohammed Saeed Noori case, which held that singing Vande Mataram at government functions is not mandatory.
In Kerala , the full version was sung at the State Forest Department headquarters and at Lok Bhavan , led by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar .
Vijayan called Congress the 'B-team of the RSS,' deepening the LDF–UDF rivalry in the state.
Kerala Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan on 15 August launched a sharp attack on the Indian National Congress, accusing the party of embracing a 'soft-Hindutva' line after it decided to sing the full version of Vande Mataram at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters and at official Independence Day functions in Congress-ruled Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana.
Vijayan's Charge Against Congress
In a sharply worded social media post, Vijayan alleged that the Congress had once again revealed where its political commitments lay, arguing the party was drifting away from India's secular nationalist tradition and moving toward the Hindutva agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He went further, calling the Congress the 'B-team of the RSS' — a pointed accusation that underscored the deepening rift between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress in Kerala.
Vijayan invoked historical precedent to buttress his argument. He recalled that the Congress Working Committee had resolved in 1937 that, given the religious imagery embedded in the song's later stanzas, only the first two stanzas should be sung at platforms of the national movement. He also noted that when the Constituent Assembly accorded Vande Mataram the status of the national song in 1950, it was those same first two stanzas that were intended for official use.
The Kerala Dimension
The controversy acquired a distinct Kerala angle when the full version of Vande Mataram was rendered at an official function at the State Forest Department headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Political observers noted that the song was heard in venues where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an established presence in the state. At Lok Bhavan, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar led the singing of Vande Mataram during the Independence Day function.
Legal and Constitutional Context
Vijayan also cited the Supreme Court's March 2026 ruling in the Mohammed Saeed Noori case, which, he said, made clear that singing Vande Mataram at government functions was not mandatory. He argued that there was no legal compulsion to sing the song, and that failure to do so was not a punishable offence under the Centre's amended law. Against this backdrop, he described the full rendition at official functions as an attempt to appease the RSS.
Political Stakes in Kerala
The remarks add a fresh layer to the increasingly competitive political contest between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left in Kerala, with Vande Mataram emerging as an unexpected flashpoint on Independence Day. Vijayan accused the Congress of copying Sangh Parivar positions in an attempt to compete with majoritarian politics — a charge the Congress has not yet formally responded to. This comes amid a broader national debate over the boundaries of secular politics in India, with the Congress facing pressure on multiple fronts to define its ideological identity ahead of upcoming state elections.
Point of View
However, is that Vijayan's own argument rests on a 1937 Congress resolution — meaning he is, in effect, invoking Congress's own secular legacy against it. The deeper question mainstream coverage is missing: whether the Congress's decision was a deliberate ideological pivot or simply a miscalculated Independence Day gesture. The answer matters enormously for the UDF's minority voter base in Kerala, which will be watching closely.
NationPress
15 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Pinarayi Vijayan accuse Congress of soft-Hindutva?
Vijayan accused the Congress of soft-Hindutva after the party decided to sing the full version of Vande Mataram at its AICC headquarters and at official Independence Day functions in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. He argued this move aligned Congress with the RSS's ideological agenda and betrayed India's secular tradition.
What is the historical position on singing the full Vande Mataram?
The Congress Working Committee resolved in 1937 that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung at national movement platforms, given the religious imagery in the song's later verses. When the Constituent Assembly designated it the national song in 1950, it was those first two stanzas that were intended for official use.
What did the Supreme Court rule about Vande Mataram at government functions?
The Supreme Court's March 2026 ruling in the Mohammed Saeed Noori case held that singing Vande Mataram at government functions is not mandatory. Vijayan cited this ruling to argue that the Congress's decision to sing the full version was a voluntary political choice, not a legal obligation.
What happened in Kerala on Independence Day regarding Vande Mataram?
In Kerala, the full version of Vande Mataram was sung at the State Forest Department headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram and at Lok Bhavan, where Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar led the rendition during the Independence Day function.
What is the political significance of this row for Kerala?
The controversy deepens the rivalry between the Left Democratic Front, led by Vijayan, and the Congress-led United Democratic Front ahead of future state elections. The Vande Mataram dispute gives the Left a symbolic issue to challenge the Congress's secular credentials among minority and liberal voters in Kerala.
