Overview
- Multiple public figures spoke out on Thursday, with Gitanjali Angmo saying the full Vande Mataram should be sung and dismissing objections to deity references as 'childish'.
- Maulana Sajid Rashidi of the All India Imam Association responded that Muslims cannot sing verses that worship goddesses and said faith allows individuals to decline parts that conflict with their beliefs.
- BJP spokesperson R. P. Singh endorsed Angmo's view while urging readers to consider the devotional references in their historical context.
- Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna publicly rebuked Sharmila Tagore's reported suggestion to sing only the opening stanzas, using personal criticism that further intensified public attention.
- The row echoes a long history of compromise—Congress formally used only two stanzas in 1937 and the Constituent Assembly chose Jana Gana Mana as national anthem—and it could sharpen political polarization and tests of conscience-based legal claims as parties press competing positions.