Madurai CPI(M) MP Su. Venkatesan has come under scrutiny after sharing a video on social media in which he claimed that singing Tamil Thai Vazhthu before Vande Mataram could attract a three-year prison sentence under the newly passed Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 – a claim that is a lie and not supported by the text of the legislation.
In the video, Venkatesan criticised the amendment and said:
“The song ‘Vande Mataram’ has been incorporated into the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, through an amendment. The Union BJP government pushed this through, using a highly objectionable, underhanded method in the Rajya Sabha yesterday and the Lok Sabha today. The Constituent Assembly had previously decided that only two of the song’s six stanzas should be adopted.
The reason for this was that the remaining four stanzas advocate idol worship; specifically, they personify India as deities such as Durga, Kali, and Saraswati. How could a Muslim, a Christian, a Sikh, an atheist, or someone with secular political beliefs sing this song? How can they be compelled to sing it?
Consequently, the Constituent Assembly had excluded those four stanzas. However, on February 6th, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued a nationwide circular mandating that all six stanzas be sung. The circular further stipulated that this song must be sung prior to the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
Today, this has been enacted into law. A particularly adverse consequence of this affects states like Tamil Nadu, which have their own ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’. If the ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’ is sung before ‘Vande Mataram’, the penalty of three years’ imprisonment would apply to us as well. I must express that today is a deeply distressing day, as the Union BJP government has introduced a law that is discriminatory towards minorities, contrary to secular political principles, and fundamentally objectionable.”
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However, Venkatesan’s claim that rendering Tamil Thai Vazhthu before Vande Mataram would invite a three-year prison sentence is legally incorrect.
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amends Section 3 of the original 1971 Act by extending to the National Song, Vande Mataram the same statutory protection that already exists for the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
Under the amended law, the punishment of up to three years’ imprisonment applies only to a person who:
Intentionally prevents the singing of the National Song, or
Deliberately causes a physical disturbance to an assembly engaged in singing the National Song.
The legislation does not criminalise the order in which songs are rendered during a function, nor does it prescribe imprisonment for singing a state anthem before Vande Mataram.
The confusion stems from conflating an administrative protocol with a criminal statute.
Earlier this year, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an administrative circular prescribing the order of songs at certain Central Government functions and university convocations, directing that Vande Mataram be rendered before the National Anthem.
Tamil Nadu, however, has long followed its own protocol under which Tamil Thai Vazhthu is sung at the beginning of official state functions.
Simply rendering Tamil Thai Vazhthu first in accordance with state protocol does not amount to preventing, obstructing, or physically disrupting the singing of Vande Mataram. As such, it does not attract criminal liability under the amended law.
Despite this, Venkatesan publicly claimed that singing Tamil Thai Vazhthu before Vande Mataram would itself result in a three-year prison sentence, a claim that is not borne out by the text of the legislation and has drawn criticism for misrepresenting the scope of the newly enacted law.
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