Amid the raging debate over Vande Mataram, the Uttarakhand Congress has said that the national song will not be sung at the party’s official programmes for one month “come what may”. The state unit of Congress declared this days after Uttarakhand minister Dhan Singh Rawat had said that those who want to live in Uttarakhand will have to sing ‘Vande Mataram’.
“Uttarakhand mein rehna hai, toh Vande mataram kehna hoga (If you want to stay in Uttarakhand, you have to sing Vande mataram),” the minister recently told students at a function at a college in Roorkee He said that the government will also stipulate timings for the songs.
After his statement sparked a fresh controversy, Rawat said that his comments should be seen in proper light. He claimed that he had spoken about bringing positive changes for the betterment of the education system in Uttarakhand. “I spoke for benefit of the students, I had also spoken about cracking down on drug usage in campuses and improving attendance of students. All these changes are aimed at bringing discipline among students. People should not misinterpret my statement,” Rawat reportedly said.
Reacting to his statement, State Congress president Kishore Upadhyay said, “They cannot impose things like that on people. I announce that we will not sing Vande Mataram at our programmes for one month come what may.”
Reacting to the Congress leader’s assertion, state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt said by opposing an age old tradition of concluding every official programme with the singing of the national song, the Congress had only “reflected its decadent culture”.
(With PTI inputs)
