Bengaluru: Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar (DKS) seeking reconsideration of the State Government’s decision to limit Vande Mataram to two stanzas at official events.

The Congress State Government had recently ordered that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at its programmes, except those attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or Governor.

In a letter to the Chief Minister dated Sept. 22, the Governor said that the Sept. 8, 2026 Government Order appeared to be contrary to the guidelines issued by the Centre and raised Constitutional and statutory questions in the wake of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026. He referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ orders relating to the National Song and National Anthem and said, the Centre had prescribed an official version of Vande Mataram for rendition.

The letter said, the Central instructions, particularly those relating to mass singing of the National Song, “leave no scope” for a State Government to prescribe a different or truncated version at its functions.

Gehlot referred to the 2026 Amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, saying Parliament had extended the statutory protection under Section 3 to the National Song.

According to the letter, the amended provision covers the intentional prevention of the singing of the National Song and intentional disturbance of an assembly engaged in such singing. Referring to Articles 162, 256 and 257(1) of the Constitution, the Governor said, the distribution of executive powers between the Union and the States warranted consideration before the State Government adopted a protocol that he said was inconsistent with the Union’s prescribed protocol.

Noting that the recent amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was also significant, the Governor said, Parliament had consciously extended statutory protection to Vande Mataram as the  National Song.

Gehlot advised the State Govt. to examine whether the restriction to two stanzas could be sustained consistently with the 2026 amendment, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ instructions, the relevant Constitutional provisions and the distribution of Legislative & Executive powers between the Centre and the States, as well as the requirement to maintain uniformity and dignity in the observance of nationally prescribed protocols concerning national symbols.

“Therefore, in view of the above, I advise the State Government to reconsider the Government Order dated 8 September 2026 and follow the Central Government’s prevailing instructions concerning the rendition of the National Song at State Government functions,” Gehlot said.

Can’t penalise for not singing Vande Mataram: SC

The 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, hearing a petition by Karnatak vocalist T.M. Krishna, who has challenged the law mandating the singing of all six stanzas of the Vande Mataram, reminded the Centre about its 1986 ruling on an individual’s right not to sing the National Anthem, said it was up to “a conscientious objector not to recite one or all stanzas of the National Song” and the person cannot be subjected to “criminal consequences.”

“We expect no criminal consequences” for conscientious objectors to Vande Mataram. What is the national song is not in dispute. It is for the democratic State to decide what is the national song, whether two stanzas or four stanza,” Justice Joymala Bagchi observed..

It also said, it will examine whether refusal to sing the Vande Mataram could have penal consequences.