TMC Slams Centre Over ‘Vande Mataram’ Directive Ahead Of West Bengal Polls

TMC Slams Centre Over ‘Vande Mataram’ Directive Ahead Of West Bengal Polls

The Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP-led Centre of politicising the directive to make all six stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ mandatory, alleging it is aimed at influencing the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. While TMC leaders criticised the move as an attempt to rewrite history, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari and author Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay welcomed the decision.

Aritra SinghaUpdated: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 11:44 PM IST
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West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee | File

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday had accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the central government had made it mandatory to sing all six stanzas of the national song, Vande Mataram.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen said that this move is taken by the central government in keeping the West Bengal Assembly elections.

“People of Bengal will never accept this. The first two stanzas are chosen and are sung on the suggestion made by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. BJP is trying to rewrite history even though they (BJP) don’t have any legacy in the independence movement,” said Sen.

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also feels that the step is taken in keeping with the upcoming elections.

“The Prime Minister had called Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay ‘Bankim Da’ but he had not apologized for that. BJP leaders always distort the names and history of Bengal saints. They have done this just to get political mileage and moreover, BJP always spreads a narrative of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay vs Rabindranath Tagore,” stated Ghosh.

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Welcoming the move, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the Bengal government will never implement the order sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Veteran author Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay also welcomed the initiative.

“Even Rabindranath Tagore has sung the song. There is no harm in implanting this and making it mandatory at every government meeting and in schools,” added the veteran author.

Educationist Pabitra Sarkar however, didn’t welcome the move.

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