‘Vande Mataram’ row: Cong MLA says he stood through traditional rendition, sat for additional lines (Ld)
Gandhinagar, Sep 9 (IANS) Congress MLA Imran Khedawala said on Wednesday that he had stood and respectfully participated in the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, but sat down when additional lines were sung, as he opposed what he described as additions made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Khedawala was responding to criticism from the State Forest and Environment Minister Pravin Mali, who had accused the Congress MLA of insulting ‘Vande Mataram’ after he was seen sitting during its rendition at the beginning of the three-day Assembly’s Monsoon session.
Speaking to IANS, the Congress MLA added that he had stood throughout the version of ‘Vande Mataram’ associated with the historical rendition and had sung it respectfully.
He said that he then chose to sit when an “extra stanza” was being sung, adding that his decision was based on his personal belief and his ideological association with the Congress.
“I stood when Vande Mataram was being sung. I stood through all the stanzas of Vande Mataram that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, BR Ambedkar and Rabindranath Tagore used to sing, and I sang it respectfully,” Khedawala added.
He said that he objected to the additional stanzas introduced by the BJP and added that he did not subscribe to the their ideology.
Khedawala also referred to criticism previously expressed by Congress leaders, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, over the BJP’s approach to the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’.
He said that his decision to sit during the additional portion of the national song was his personal stand.
The remarks came after Minister Mali demanded that the Congress clarify whether Khedawala’s conduct was an individual decision or reflected the party’s position.
Minister Mali had said the Assembly traditionally begins its proceedings with ‘Vande Mataram’ and described Khedawala’s conduct as an insult to the national song and the constitutional system.
He also added that he would approach the Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary with a complaint and seek action according to constitutional procedure.
Responding to the BJP’s demand for an apology, Khedawala instead accused the state government of focusing on the controversy while avoiding discussion on issues affecting people in Gujarat.
“The BJP is talking about an apology, but today farmers are troubled, young people are unemployed, atrocities are being committed against women, inflation is rising, there are no doctors in hospitals and schools do not have teachers,” he said.
Khedawala alleged that the Gujarat government is avoiding discussion on these issues and is instead concentrating on the ‘Vande Mataram’ controversy.
The dispute emerged on the first day of the three-day Monsoon session of the Gujarat Assembly, where ‘Vande Mataram’ was rendered at the start of proceedings.
The exchange has since turned into a political confrontation between the BJP government and the Congress over the rendition of the national song and the significance attached to its different stanzas.
–IANS
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