Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing them of hypocrisy for celebrating the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram while never truly embracing the national song in their own institutions.

In a strongly worded statement, Kharge said, “It is deeply ironic that those who today claim to be the self-proclaimed guardians of nationalism — the RSS and the BJP — have never sung Vande Mataram or our national anthem Jana Gana Mana in their shakhas or offices. Instead, they continue to sing Namaste Sada Vatsale, a song glorifying their organisation, not the nation.”

Speaking with a news agency, Kharge alleged that since its founding in 1925, the RSS has deliberately avoided Vande Mataram, despite its historic importance in the freedom struggle. “Not once in its texts or literature does the song find mention,” he said, asserting that the organisation’s ideology stood in contrast to the spirit of the song.

The Congress president contrasted this with his own party’s legacy, stating that “Since 1986 till today, every meeting of the Congress — whether a plenary session or a block-level meeting — begins with Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana.”

Kharge’s remarks came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 150-year anniversary celebration of Vande Mataram in New Delhi, releasing a commemorative stamp to mark the occasion. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, meanwhile, led a similar programme in Patna, where he launched a nationwide year-long campaign dedicated to the song.

Turning his criticism towards the RSS’s historical conduct, Kharge said it was “a well-known fact that the RSS and the Sangh Parivar supported the British during the national movement, refused to raise the national flag for 52 years, insulted the Constitution, and burnt effigies of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.” He further cited Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s observation that the RSS’s ideology was linked to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Kharge concluded by reaffirming Congress’s commitment to the ideals of Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana, calling them “symbols of India’s unity, pride, and democratic spirit.” He added, “The Congress Party has always been the proud flagbearer of Vande Mataram, which represents the soul of our freedom movement.”