The Congress-led Karnataka government has issued an official order restricting the singing of Vande Mataram at state functions to its first two stanzas. Under this new order, the complete six-stanza version will be reserved exclusively for events attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, or the state Governor.
This decision departs from a recent central directive from the home ministry encouraging the full six-verse rendition nationwide. Congress leaders have argued that the later stanzas contain religious imagery that some communities find alienating, and that the tradition of using only the opening stanzas dates back to the time of independence.
The BJP has criticized the move as an attempt to dilute a symbol of national pride and accused the Congress of appeasement politics. In response, senior Congress figures noted that the two-stanza practice is a long-standing convention.