New Delhi [India], July 30 (ANI): The passage of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Lok Sabha drew sharply divided reactions on Thursday, with IUML MP ET Mohammed Basheer accusing the government of using the legislation to “divide” the people of the nation.
The Bill, which seeks to make any obstruction or insult to the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ a criminal offence, was passed after a brief discussion amid uproar by the opposition MPs on the Ram Mandir donation row and police action on student protestors.
Speaking to ANI outside parliament, Basheer said that the central government is attempting to undermine the National Anthem.
“This was not even there in the agenda today… This government has an ulterior motive because their intention is to divide the people in that way… They could have allowed for a discussion. They are also trying to diminish the significance of the National Anthem,” Basheer said outside parliament.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore also claimed that the Bill was “bulldozed” without proper discussion, accusing the Union government of using the National Song for political benefits.
“The Parliament has been bulldozed again. We asked the Home Minister Amit Shah to come to the Parliament, but he is not ready to come; he is afraid to come… They bulldozed the Bill and passed it. It is an insult to the National Song itself… The country will not forgive them for the way they are playing politics on the National Song,” Tagore told ANI.
Offering a contrasting account of the Bill, Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, who had parted ways with TMC in June, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with restoring verses of Vande Mataram, she said had been dropped decades ago.
“When objections were raised regarding the song ‘Vande Mataram’–specifically, demands to remove two verses because they mentioned Goddess Durga and some people did not worship her–Pandit Nehru and the Congress leadership of that time acceded to the request. However, if one truly claims to be secular–as the BJP manifesto states–then one must respect every religion. It is PM Modi who has taken the step to re-include those two verses that had been removed, ” she told ANI.
BJP MP Saumitra Khan, meanwhile, said that the opposition was to blame for the brief discussion.
“This is a day of pride for West Bengal and Bengalis… We thank the Central Government… We were ready to discuss this, but they (the opposition) wanted to create a ruckus,” he told ANI.
The Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by voice vote on Thursday.
The passage came a day after the Rajya Sabha cleared the legislation.
The legislation faced sharp opposition from the DMK in the Lower House, which accused the government of using it to push a ‘Hindutva’ agenda.
During the discussion, opposition leaders sloganeered over the Ram Mandir donation row and police action on student protesters. (ANI)
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