Bhopal/Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said all office-bearers of the state Congress unit should resign if they cannot take action after two women corporators of the party in Indore refused to sing Vande Mataram during the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) budget session, citing Islamic beliefs.
Yadav described it as "unfortunate" that the Congress corporators refused to sing the national song in the municipal corporation and "shamelessly" stated they would not recite it. He added that this reveals the character of the Congress party.
A row erupted on Wednesday after the corporators, Fauzia Sheikh Alim and Rubina Iqbal Khan, refused to sing the song during a discussion on the IMC budget. Alim later told reporters that her religion does not allow her to sing Vande Mataram, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "I bow to thee, Mother".
She said she enjoys religious freedom under the Constitution and no one can force her to sing the song. Yadav noted that Khan had also declined to sing the national song based on her religious beliefs.
He demanded an explanation from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and MP Congress President Jitu Patwari over the incident.
Yadav said in a statement that the entire state Congress unit should resign as the party is unable to move past its "double character" and if they cannot take action on this issue. He stated that the woman corporators of the Indore civic body had crossed the limits of shamelessness.
He questioned the "silence" of state Congress chief Patwari on the issue, alleging that Congress members frequently criticise Lord Ram and insult Hindus. Yadav alleged the Congress created trouble over Vande Mataram even during the freedom struggle, claiming the party's government removed five stanzas after coming to power in independent India.
He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the heart of the people with the order to sing the six stanzas of Vande Mataram. The Union Home Ministry had directed that all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, shall be sung first when the National Song and National Anthem, Jan Gana Man, are played together.
