New Delhi, August 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday posed for a group photograph with the newly appointed BJP national office-bearers at the party headquarters in New Delhi, shortly after the party adopted a resolution on the honour and historical legacy of Vande Mataram.

PM Modi arrived at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in the evening as the party announced a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the history, significance and role of Vande Mataram in India's freedom struggle.

The BJP's resolution strongly criticised the Congress Working Committee's decision to follow its 1937 resolution limiting the singing ofVande Mataramat party programmes to its first two stanzas.

The BJP described Vande Mataramas India's National Song, an expression of reverence for Bharat Mata, a rallying cry of the freedom movement and an enduring symbol of national consciousness.

The party said it would oppose any move to restrict the National Song to only two stanzas and would work to protect the honour, dignity and historical legacy of its full six-stanza version.

In the resolution, the BJP also referred to the 1950 Constituent Assembly declaration and the law passed by Parliament in 2026 granting statutory protection to the National Song at par withJana Gana Mana. It argued that the Congress Working Committee's decision could not override constitutional and parliamentary provisions.

The party said the political compromise reached in 1937 could not supersede the constitutional decision of 1950 or the legislation enacted in 2026.

As part of its nationwide campaign, the BJP said it would highlight the historical context ofVande Mataramand its contribution to India's freedom movement. A special awareness programme aimed at young people will also be organised to ensure that future generations understand the song's association with the country's struggle, sacrifice and national awakening.

The resolution further said the BJP would oppose any attempt to make the National Song subservient to communal pressure, appeasement or vote-bank politics.

The party also cited Mahatma Gandhi's description ofVande Mataramas an “anti-imperialist slogan” associated with the “purest national sentiment”.

The Congress Working Committee had earlier decided that only the first two stanzas ofVande Mataramwould be sung at party events, citing its 1937 resolution. Congress MP K.C. Venugopal had said the party's position was clear and that it would follow the decisions taken by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1937.

The BJP, however, maintained that the issue was linked to the honour of the National Song and the legacy of those who contributed to India's freedom struggle.