New Delhi, July 19 -- CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Sunday requested the Centre to withdraw the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which he said extends criminal liability to the prevention of singing of the National Song Vande Mataram.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to introduce the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

In a letter to Amit Shah, John Brittas argued that the proposed Bill deviates from the constitutional settlement that has governed the status of the National Anthem and the National Song.

Acknowledging the contribution of Vande Mataram to India's freedom movement, the CPI(M) MP alleged that the Bill risks "unsettling a delicate constitutional balance founded upon pluralism, liberty of...