The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared an amendment to the 1971 Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act to make any insult or obstruction to the singing of the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence, The Hindu quoted an unidentified government official as saying.

At present, the 1971 Act states that insults to the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, the national flag and the Constitution are punishable by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine or both.

During the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a proposal was cleared to amend Section 3 of the Act to include Vande Mataram in this list and make any insult or obstruction to the singing of the national song a cognisable offence, The Times of India reported.

Section 3 states that anyone who “intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian National Anthem or causes disturbance to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both”.

The decision comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party defeated the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the 15-year rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

It also comes after the Union home minister on January 28 directed that all six stanzas of the Vande Mataram be sung first when it is played together with the Jana Gana Mana.

Only the first two stanzas of the national song had been played at official functions earlier. The remaining stanzas, which invoke Hindu goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, had been omitted.

In October 1937, the Congress Working Committee had passed a resolution adopting the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram as the national song. The BJP has long alleged that the Congress had agreed to drop the four stanzas to “appease Muslims”.

In December, Modi criticised the Congress in Parliament, alleging that Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, had supported Muhammad Ali Jinnah in opposing Vande Mataram when the resolution was adopted because it could “irritate Muslims”.

The Union government is commemorating the 150th year of Vande Mataram.

A Press Information Bureau note issued on November 6 to mark the 150 years stated that the Constituent Assembly had adopted Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem and Vande Mataram as the national song.

The note quoted Rajendra Prasad, the first president, as having told the Assembly in January 1950 that Vande Mataram, because of its role in the freedom movement, “shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it”.

However, the Constitution mentions only the national anthem, not Vande Mataram.

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