Government to move Bill in Rajya Sabha today to make insult to Vande Mataram a criminal offence

The Centre will begin the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday (July 20, 2026) with a move to grant statutory protection to the National Song Vande Mataram., listing the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026. This legislation seeks to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. The existing law penalises acts of disrespect towards national symbols such as the National Flag, the Constitution, and the National Anthem with imprisonment of up to three years.The proposed amendment seeks to extend similar protection to Vande Mataram. According to the Bill, any act causing obstruction in the singing of the National Song or insulting it in any form would become punishable under law.The Bill circulated among the Rajya Sabha members and listed for introduction on Monday (July 20), said, “At the meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on the 24th January, 1950, its President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, stated that the song Vande Mataram composed by Shri Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, that played a historic role in the Indian freedom struggle, shall be honoured equally with ‘Jana-Gana-Mana’ and shall have equal status with it. Presently, there is no specific legal provision to prevent insults to the singing of Vande Mataram, which is honoured as the National Song. Therefore, 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, to make such acts punishable,” the statement said.Withdraw Bill: BrittasThe CPI(M) MP in the Rajya Sabha, John Brittas, has shot off a letter to Mr. Shah seeking withdrawal of the Bill. He said that the profound contribution of Vande Mataram to India’s freedom movement is beyond dispute and commands the highest respect from every Indian. However, the proposed amendment departs from the carefully evolved constitutional settlement that has governed the status of the National Anthem and the National Song since the birth of Indian Republic, he said.Contesting the claim made in the Bill, Mr. Brittas said the statement by Dr. Rajendra Prasad was not a formal decision of the Constituent Assembly through a resolution, much less a constitutional provision. “Equally significant is what followed. After nearly three years of exhaustive deliberations, during which the Constituent Assembly considered every amendment, objection, dissent and competing viewpoint before adopting the Constitution, it consciously refrained from incorporating any provision placing the National Song and the National Anthem on the same legal footing. Nor did it recommend identical statutory obligations or penal consequences,” the letter by Mr. Brittas said.It would, therefore, be constitutionally impermissible to isolate a single sentence from the President’s statement and employ it, divorced from the constitutional process and settlement of which it formed a part, as the sole basis for enlarging criminal liability 76 years later, it said.He said that when the 1971 Act was enacted, Parliament consciously restricted Section 3 to intentional prevention of the singing of the National Anthem. “Had Parliament understood the statement of Dr. Rajendra Prasad of 24 January 1950 as conferring complete legal parity between the National Anthem and the National Song, nothing prevented it from including both in the original enactment. The omission cannot be regarded as accidental. Rather, it reflected Parliament’s understanding that while both deserved the highest respect, only the National Anthem warranted statutory protection under the penal law,” Mr. Brittas said.The present amendment, therefore, represents not a mere clarification but a significant departure from more than five decades of settled legislative policy, it further said.The government’s move comes amid year-long celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram. Earlier, the Union Home Ministry had written to the States directing that the song be played or sung at official functions where the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, is rendered.Judges’ BillIn the Lok Sabha, the government has listed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, among the legislative business scheduled for the opening day of the session.The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of both houses met on the eve of the session. At the meeting of the Lok Sabha BAC, Speaker Om Birla urged members to ensure constructive deliberations, meaningful participation, and adherence to parliamentary traditions. He appealed to all parties to cooperate in the smooth conduct of proceedings so that issues concerning the public could be discussed comprehensively.Separately, Mr. Birla approved a request by Trinamool Congress member Sudip Bandyopadhyay for a change in his seating arrangement in the Lok Sabha chamber with immediate effect.