Amid ruckus, Bill to punish insult to National Song introduced in Rajya Sabha

Amid disruptions over the police action on students protesting against paper leaks, the Union Home Ministry introduced the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Rajya Sabha on Friday (July 24, 2026), to punish any insult to the National Song, Vande Mataram.

The objections raised by Left MPs against the introduction of the Bill were defeated by a voice vote.

The Bill, which proposes to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, extends the punishment for acts of disrespect towards national symbols such as the National Flag, the Constitution, and the National Anthem, to Vande Mataram too.

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Union Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai introduced the Bill. Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was on the chair, invited CPI(M) MP John Brittas and CPI MP Sandosh Kumar P. to speak for one minute as they had given notices to oppose the Bill on the grounds of legislative competence or its constitutionality.

Mr. Brittas said Parliament cannot rewrite a constitutional settlement through an ordinary legislation. He said the Bill entirely relied upon the first President Rajendra Prasad’s statement that the National Song must get a similar stature as that of the National Anthem. “But it suppresses the crucial constitutional context in which the statement was made. Therefore, not a constitutional provision, not a resolution, not even an Assembly decision… Parliament cannot elevate a presidential statement in the constitutional text, 76 years later,” he said, adding that the Bill is a dishonour to the decision of the Constituent Assembly and framers of the Constitution.

“The Constituent Assembly, after nearly three years of exhaustive deliberation, consciously refrained from placing the National Song and the National Anthem on the same constitutional footing. Had the framers of both intended to enjoy identical legal consequences, they would have expressed and so provided,” he said, adding that the government cannot manufacture patriotism and nationalism through a piece of legislation.

Mr. Kumar’s reference to the ruling establishment’s role in freedom struggle was deleted by the Chair. He said the core point is that Vande Mataram should unite Indians, not divide them. “The leaders of India’s freedom movement, including Rabindranath Tagore, had understood this. That is why it was confined to two stanzas only,” he said and added that the government is purposefully manufacturing a division between Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the author of the National Song.

Countering the statements, Mr. Rai said the Left MPs were trying to mislead the House. He said on January 24, 1950, Rajendra Prasad had said that both National Song and National Anthem should have equal status and the government respects it. He sought permission to introduce the Bill. It was put to vote amid slogans by Opposition members and Mr. Harivansh announced that the Bill was introduced. He adjourned the House for the day soon after that.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill by Home Minister Amit Shah said that the 1971 Act provides that any act of intentionally preventing the singing of the National Anthem or causing disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing constitutes a punishable offence. “Presently, there is no specific legal provision to prevent insults to the singing of Vande Mataram, which is honoured as the National Song. Therefore, in order to prohibit any person from intentionally preventing the singing of the National 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 National Song also within its ambit, so as to make such acts punishable,” the statement said.

Earlier, in the morning, the Rajya Sabha witnessed two adjournments over the NEET paper leak issue and police action on protesters with the Opposition demanding resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In the morning before adjournment, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated the Opposition’s demand that there can be no debate on any issue without Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, an apology from the government for the police brutality against protesters at Jantar Mantar, and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.