Srinagar, Sept. 10 -- The National Conference and its ally Congress exchanged sharp words on Wednesday over the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the ongoing International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) in the presence of chief minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah on Monday. The NC, which has 42 MLAs in the assembly, said it was a 'statutory obligation' to play the full national song at a state event, but no one would be forced to sing it. The Congress, which provides outside support to the NC-led government and shares a broader national alignment under the opposition INDIA bloc, publicly expressed strong disapproval over the incident. The Congress has six MLAs in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly. The row started when Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal posted a video of the IFFJK on X, asserting that the unabridged version of Vande Mataram "sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos that our freedom fighters envisioned and nurtured for India". Venugopal urged the alliance partner to honour the wisdom and judgment of the freedom fighters, and stand with Congress in singing only the version of this song that was adopted. "That version was chosen deliberately, to keep the song from being communalised - a threat as real today as it was then. Upholding it is how we uphold the secular, inclusive character of our Republic," Venogopal wrote on X. J&K Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra also expressed concern and said, "National symbols, songs and traditions occupy a special place in the heart of every Indian. Their true strength lies in their ability to bind together a nation as diverse as ours. It is therefore a matter of concern that our alliance partners chose to sing the full version of the national song." The adopted version represented a conscious balance, preserving historic significance while remaining sensitive to India's plural ethos, Karra added. Former J&K Congress president and legislator Ghulam Ahmad Mir also said the move was against secular values of the country. Responding to the criticism, NC chief spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq said that government protocol should be separated from party ideology. "The National Conference has a clear stance. When Parliament has adopted it, playing Vande Mataram becomes a statutory obligation, and that is what the government did," Sadiq said. Chief minister Omar Abdullah later shared Sadiq's statements on X. "As far as the party's stand is concerned, anyone who wants to sing Vande Mataram can do so, and no one will be forced," he added. Sadiq also tagged Karra in a post on X, in which he shared videos of Independence Day functions in Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana where the full version of Vande Mataram was played. "Jenab Tariq Karra saheb, please take a look at your Congress CMs and share your valuable thoughts with everyone. Thank you!" Sadiq said in the post....