{
  "id": 2040775,
  "title": "Congress Working Committee discusses Vande Mataram, firm on singing just 2 stanzas",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/congress-working-committee-discusses-vande-mataram-firm-on-singing",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T23:51:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/congress-working-committee-discusses-vande-mataram-firm-on-singing-just-2-stanzas/articleshow/133361009.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Congress Working Committee met on Wednesday to discuss various issues. They directed their chief ministers to create plans to improve education and examination systems in their respective states, which they could showcase nationwide. The party also decided to hold nationwide protests at the village level to address the Ram temple controversy, known as \"Chanda Chori,\" under the BJP government.\n\nThe CWC demanded that the Lok Sabha remain at the current 543-member strength for the next 25 years and implemented a women's quota from the 2029 national elections. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy suggested that the party declare Rahul Gandhi as the candidate for the 2029 polls. He also cautioned against allowing parties like the \"Cockroach Janta Party\" to gain prominence in Congress areas.\n\nThe party plans to expand its \"Chhatron ki Goonj\" student conventions to 800 towns and cities. Rahul Gandhi directed the chief ministers to revamp the education system, with the aim of presenting successful examples to the country. The CMs were asked to submit a plan, based on expert and student input, within a month.\n\nDuring the meeting, the issue of Vande Mataram was also discussed. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge read a 1937 CWC resolution stating that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Subhas Chandra Bose approved Vande Mataram on Rabindranath Tagore's advice. The committee decided to sing only two stanzas, as approved by the Constituent Assembly and the 1937 resolution.\n\nThe CWC expressed concern over Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and the E-20 ethanol policy. They criticized the Modi government's foreign policy as a \"surrender policy,\" both towards the US and China. Regarding the Ram temple controversy, Congress demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe, stressing that the Prime Minister cannot deem the issue a state subject after taking control over all aspects of the temple's construction, including the announcement of the Ram Temple Trust.",
  "summary": "Asks CMs to rRevamp edu to woo youth",
  "key_points": [
    "Congress CWC decided to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram",
    "Congress demands Supreme Court-monitored probe in Ram temple controversy",
    "Party plans to expand Chhatron ki Goonj student conventions"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Congress Working Committee's decision to standardize the singing of only two stanzas of Vande Mataram reflects a compromise between tradition and controversy, allowing the party to assert its cultural roots while avoiding potential divisiveness.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}