Full Version Of Vande Mataram Played Before National Anthem At Vijay's Swearing-In Event

Last Updated:May 10, 2026, 13:25 IST

Tamil state song 'Tamil Thai Valthu' was also played at the end of Vijay's oath-taking event in Chennai on Sunday.

Months after the Centre directed that the complete six-stanza version of Vande Mataram be performed at official events, the full rendition of the national song was played before the national anthem during TVK chief C Joseph Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony in Chennai on Sunday. The move followed a January directive issued by the Union Home Ministry.

The ceremony featured Vande Mataram first, followed by the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, while the Tamil state song ‘Tamil Thai Valthu’ was played at the end. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also present at the event alongside Vijay.

What Govt Directive Says?

Penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882, Vande Mataram became the centre of a political controversy after the PM Modi-led government issued its January directive mandating the performance of all six original stanzas at official functions. This marked a departure from the practice of singing only the two stanzas adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.

The Centre is commemorating 150 years of Vande Mataram, the song that became a powerful symbol during India’s freedom movement against British rule. In a recent move, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, giving Vande Mataram the same legal protection as the national anthem.

However, the national song was notably absent during the swearing-in ceremony of Suvendu Adhikari as West Bengal Chief Minister on Saturday, despite the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several senior BJP leaders.

BJP, Congress Trade Barbs

After the Centre issued a directive in January, the Congress strongly opposed the move, arguing that it ignored a 1937 decision taken after consultations with Rabindranath Tagore to respect the sentiments of different communities and religions. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier called the directive an insult to Tagore, arguing that the national anthem should not follow Vande Mataram.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said he found it “deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the guardians of nationalism have never sung ‘Vande Mataram’…". The BJP, meanwhile, accused Congress of “pandering to a communal agenda" in 1937 by adopting a shorter version of the song.

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