Congress will sing only first 2 stanzas of Vande Mataram:Decision taken at CWC meeting; party calls Vande Mataram, National Anthem political issues for BJP

Congress has made its stand clear on Vande Mataram. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said the party would follow the decision taken at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in 1937. Under this, only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung at party programmes. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting was held at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday. After the meeting, party General Secretary KC Venugopal made the statement at a press conference. He said Vande Mataram and the national anthem are emotional issues for the Congress, while they are political issues for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Controversy over Vande Mataram A controversy has erupted over the conduct of Congress leaders during Vande Mataram at the Independence Day celebrations at the Congress headquarters on August 15. The BJP has alleged that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the party president tried to stop the song while it was being sung. Two pictures from the Congress headquarters on August 15… Government remained on the back foot during Monsoon Session The meeting discussed the current political situation in the country, along with issues concerning students and a strategy to put pressure on the BJP-led central government over alleged irregularities in donations received for the Ram Temple. Venugopal said, “Our focus is on three to four issues. The first issue is the paper leak. The movement launched by people across the country against it and the way the government dealt with the movement were discussed.” Venugopal said the CWC felt that the Monsoon Session of Parliament was successful for the Opposition and that the government remained on the back foot. Rallies to be held in 800 cities for students Venugopal said, “Donation theft is a serious concern among the people of the country. It is an issue connected with people’s sentiments. Those who used the Ram Temple to divide people have now been exposed.” He said Gandhi’s ‘students’ voice’ campaign would continue. Under this, more rallies will be held in 800 cities. Some of these rallies will be led by former Congress presidents. Venugopal said Congress president Kharge has asked the party’s chief ministers to work with education experts. They have been asked to prepare a roadmap for reforms in the education and examination systems and submit a report to Kharge. Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh also discussed Venugopal said the meeting also discussed the issue of ‘Chinese incursion’ in Arunachal Pradesh. He said the party’s concerns over the matter were raised during the meeting. He also said Congress has demanded that reservation for women be implemented based on the existing strength of 543 Lok Sabha seats. Jairam Ramesh demands apology from PM At the press conference, Jairam Ramesh demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country over the ‘purification ritual’ carried out after Kharge’s programme in Uttarakhand. Senior Congress leaders, including Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and P Chidambaram, attended the CWC meeting. Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states — A Revanth Reddy of Telangana, V D Satheesan of Kerala, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh and D K Shivakumar of Karnataka — were also present at the meeting. ​