Government to move Bill in Rajya Sabha today to make insult to Vande Mataram a criminal offence

Published 19 July 2026 · politics

The Centre will begin the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday (July 20, 2026) with a move to grant statutory protection to the Song Vande

The Centre will begin the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday (July 20, 2026) with a move to grant statutory protection to the Song Vande Mataram., listing the Prevention of Insults to Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026. This legislation seeks to amend the Prevention of Insults to Honour Act, 1971. The existing law penalises acts of disrespect towards national symbols such as the Flag, the Constitution, and the Anthem with imprisonment of up to three years. The proposed amendment seeks to extend similar protection to Vande Mataram. According to the Bill, any act causing obstruction in the singing of the Song or insulting it in any form would become punishable under law. The Bill circulated among the Rajya Sabha members and listed for introduction on Monday (July 20), said, “At the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on the 24th January, 1950, its President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, stated that the song Vande Mataram composed by Shri Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, that played a historic role in the Indian freedom struggle, shall be honoured equally with ‘Jana-Gana-Mana’ and shall have equal status with it. Presently, there is no specific legal provision to prevent insults to the singing of Vande Mataram, which is honoured as the Song.

Therefore, to prohibit any person from intentionally preventing the singing of the Song or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing, it is proposed to amend Section 3 of the said Act to include the Song also within its ambit, to make such acts punishable,” the statement said. Withdraw Bill: Brittas The CPI(M) MP in the Rajya Sabha, John Brittas, has shot off a letter to Mr. Shah seeking withdrawal of the Bill. He said that the profound contribution of Vande Mataram to India’s freedom movement is beyond dispute and commands the highest respect from every Indian. However, the proposed amendment departs from the carefully evolved constitutional settlement that has governed the status of the Anthem and the Song since the birth of Indian Republic, he said. Contesting the claim made in the Bill, Mr. Brittas said the statement by Dr. Rajendra Prasad was not a formal decision of the Constituent Assembly through a resolution, much less a constitutional provision. “Equally significant is what followed. After nearly three years of exhaustive deliberations, during which the Constituent Assembly considered every amendment, objection, dissent and competing viewpoint before adopting the Constitution, it consciously refrained from incorporating any provision placing the Song and the Anthem on the same legal footing.