Should Kashmiris be jailed? Omar Abdullah slams Congress over Vande Mataram row

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hit back at ally Congress on Thursday over the Vande Mataram controversy, asking whether the party wanted Kashmiris to be jailed over a legal requirement to stand for the full national song at official events.

Abdullah said the requirement was not specific to Jammu and Kashmir but applied across the country, including at government functions in Congress-ruled states.

He said the issue had been unnecessarily politicised after the Congress criticised the National Conference (NC) over the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the inauguration of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK).

“They should have stopped this in Parliament. But, a law has been enacted,” Abdullah said while responding to questions from reporters.

He said that when the national anthem is played at an official function, the full stanzas of Vande Mataram have also been made mandatory under the law.

“This is not just for Jammu and Kashmir; it applies to the entire country. In states governed by the Congress, the same will happen at government functions,” Abdullah said.

He further pointed out that legal action could be taken against those who do not stand for the full national song and questioned whether Congress wanted Kashmiris to face jail over the issue.

The controversy erupted after all six stanzas of Vande Mataram were played at the IFFJK in the presence of Omar Abdullah and National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah on Monday.

The Congress, which provides outside support to the NC-led government in Jammu and Kashmir and is part of the broader INDIA bloc alignment, publicly expressed strong disapproval over the incident.

Abdullah, however, said the National Conference had not adopted the full version of Vande Mataram as a party position and would not do so in the future.

“When the Congress comes to power, and I pray the Congress comes to power as soon as possible, they can revoke this in Parliament. Let them do it, we have no objection,” he said.

“In fact, as a party, we have never adopted Vande Mataram, and we won't adopt it in the future either. But whatever our legal and statutory obligations are, we have to fulfil them,” he added.

Abdullah said the national anthem and national song would also be performed at the closing ceremony of the film festival, where a Union Minister is scheduled to be present.

He described the controversy as an attempt to make “a mountain out of a molehill”.

National Conference chief spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq had earlier defended the government's position, saying party ideology should be kept separate from government protocol.

“The National Conference has a clear stance. When Parliament has adopted it, playing Vande Mataram becomes a statutory obligation and that is what the government did,” Sadiq said.

He also pointed out that chief ministers in non-BJP states such as Telangana and Karnataka had played the complete version of Vande Mataram at official functions.

“As far as the party's stand is concerned, anyone who wants to sing Vande Mataram can do so and no one will be forced,” Sadiq added.