Congress backs two-stanza Vande Mataram; launches campaign against Ram temple funds row

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, party leader Ambika Soni and others during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Indira Bhawan, in New Delhi on August 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) decided to expand its student outreach programme, Chhatron Ki Goonj , to around 800 cities and towns, while announcing a nationwide campaign over the alleged theft of donations, which it calls “chanda chori”, at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“This is not a theft at Ram Mandir alone but ghar ghar chori (stealing from every household),” All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal said at a media briefing after a marathon four-hour meeting.

Taking a leaf out of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) playbook, Mr. Venugopal argued that since “almost every believer donated towards Ram Mandir’s construction, it is like stealing from every home”.

Mr. Gandhi, who would be addressing many of the interaction programmes with students, asked Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States to prepare a report on reforms needed in their education systems and submit it to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge within a month.

The Hindu has learnt that Mr. Gandhi, in the closed-door interaction, chided his colleagues for not meeting enough students or going to Jantar Mantar to express solidarity during the NEET paper leak protests. “I have met more students than any of you,” he is learnt to have said. He said a straw poll conducted by the Congress’s student and youth wings showed that a majority of students backed the Congress and its leadership for change.

Mr. Gandhi made it clear that he would stand with the students, “come what may”.

Mr. Kharge, in his opening remarks, accused the Narendra Modi government of “destroying” the future of students and called for a comprehensive “Education-to-Employment Roadmap” for the youth.

The infighting in the Punjab Congress, though, left an imprint, with former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a CWC member, skipping the meeting.

The CWC reiterated its demand for a Supreme Court-monitored probe and an audit of the Ram Temple trust’s accounts. It asserted that the Lok Sabha’s strength should remain frozen at 543 seats, with the existing State-wise allocation retained for 25 years, and that one-third women’s reservation should be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress Working Committee met in Kolkata Oct 26-Nov 1 1937. Those present included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, J.B. Kripalani, Bhulabhai Desai, Jamnalal Bajaj, Narendra… pic.twitter.com/bJb899UhQz

It reaffirmed that Congress functions would feature only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, in line with the 1937 AICC resolution.