The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka has announced a five-day statewide padayatra across all 224 Assembly constituencies from September 15, 2026, to protest the Congress government's decision regarding the recitation of the national song, Vande Mataram. State BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra informed reporters in Bengaluru that party workers, local leaders, and members of the public will undertake foot marches and submit memorandums to Tahsildars and Deputy Commissioners demanding a complete rollback of the state government's order.
The controversy follows a recent cabinet decision where the Karnataka government mandated that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be recited at official government programmes and state events, except those attended by the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, or Governor. Criticizing Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and the ruling cabinet, Vijayendra stated that Vande Mataram served as an emotional catalyst during India's freedom struggle and alleged that limiting its rendition to two stanzas amounts to appeasement politics.
In response, ruling Congress leaders defended the cabinet order, pointing to the historical resolution adopted by the Congress Working Committee in 1937 which approved the first two stanzas of the song for official recitations. The upcoming five-day agitation across urban and rural segments is expected to escalate political rhetoric between the ruling party and the opposition across Karnataka.
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