In adherence to the Union Home Ministry’s February 2026 directive, the full six-stanza version of
‘Vande Mataram’ was played before the national anthem at Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony.
This follows recent guidelines mandating the 3-minute-10-second, full rendition of the national song at state functions.
Vande Mataram was sung before the national anthem in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and Vijay, who shared the stage together.
Interestingly, the song, penned by renowned Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882, was not played at the Bengal Chief Minister’s swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other Union ministers were present at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.
News Edit KV Raman
