Srinagar, Sep 10, : Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit back at the Congress over its objection to the full rendition of Vande Mataram at official functions in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the government has to follow the law as long as it remains in force.Speaking to reporters, Omar said, “Do Congress want more people should go to jail?” while responding to the Congress position on the rendition of the national song.“We have to follow the law. If Congress comes to power, they can repeal the law. But as long as the law exists, we have to follow it,” Omar said.He said that at the party level, the National Conference did not recognize the full version of the song, but the position was different when it came to government functions and the law.“At party level we don’t recognize this song, but now it is a law and anybody who doesn’t sing it can face action under law,” Omar said.The Chief Minister said Congress, which was raising objections to the government’s position, should have opposed the legislation in Parliament.“Congress that talks about it should have stopped it in the Parliament,” Omar said, adding that he hoped a Congress government would come to power and repeal the law.The remarks came amid a growing row between the National Conference and its alliance partner Congress over the rendition of the full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram at official functions.The dispute began after the complete version was played at the inaugural ceremony of the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar in the presence of Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah. The full version was subsequently played at the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Justice of the J&K and Ladakh High Court.J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra had criticized the NC’s position, saying the adopted version of the song reflected a balance between its historical significance and India’s plural ethos. NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq responded by maintaining that the government had to follow the law and that nobody would be forced to sing the song.Sadiq had also pointed to instances in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where the full version of Vande Mataram was played at official functions, asking Karra to comment on the position taken by Congress chief ministers there.The legal dispute relates to the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, which extended specific legal protection to Vande Mataram. According to the government’s explanation of the amendment, the law penalizes intentionally preventing the singing of the National Song or causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in its singing. [KNT]
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