New Delhi

Parliamenton Wednesday cleared a bill to make insult to the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence, with the Lok Sabha passing the legislation amid din following a brief debate. The bill — The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — had already been passed by the Rajya Sabha a day earlier. With its passage in the Lower House, the proposed amendment now moves closer to becoming law.

In the Lok Sabha, the bill was taken up and passed through a voice vote amid protests by Opposition members, who have been demanding a discussion on police action against students protesting the NEET paper leak.The noisy scenes continued even as the House proceeded with legislative business. The legislation seeks to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to include the national song Vande Mataram under its ambit. At present, the law provides penal provisions for disrespecting national symbols such as the Constitution, the national flag and the national anthem, with punishment of up to three years’ imprisonment. Once it comes into force, insulting, obstructing or causing disturbances during the singing of Vande Mataram will attract the same punishment — up to three years in jail, a fine, or both.

The bill is part of the Centre's push to mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875 and first published in his novel Anandmath in 1882. Over the past few months, the Union government has issued directions to states on the rendition of the national song at official functions.