‘Want Kashmiris in jail?’: Omar Abdullah hits back at Congress over Vande Mataram advice

Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticized the Congress over their advice to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, stating that the full rendition is a "statutory obligation". He questioned whether the Congress wanted Kashmiris to be jailed for non-compliance. This dispute occurred during the inauguration of the J&K's first International Film Festival, where the Congress and National Conference (NC) were at odds.

The Congress General Secretary, K C Venugopal, had previously asked the NC to stand with the INDIA bloc and sing only the first two stanzas, citing the wisdom and judgment of freedom fighters. However, the NC did not find this suggestion agreeable. Tanvir Sadiq, an NC legislator, responded by sharing videos of Congress CMs Revanth Reddy and D K Shivakumar standing during the full rendition.

Omar Abdullah urged the Congress to come to power and abolish the law mandating the full rendition of Vande Mataram. He expressed that his party never accepted Vande Mataram and would not do so in the future, but acknowledged the need to fulfill legal obligations.