Amit Shah Reopens Historical Wound Over Vande Mataram

The Home Minister argued that the move reflects a dangerous alignment with the two-nation theory, which ultimately fractured the country. In contrast, he pointed to the Modi administration's current mandate requiring the full song at official functions as a necessary step to bolster national unity and rectify past oversights.

Congress leaders have pushed back against the narrative, with Rahul Gandhi and party figures citing the precedent established by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937. Mallikarjun Kharge escalated the dispute by challenging the BJP's own historical role in the independence movement, framing the debate as a contest over which party holds the true mantle of patriotism.