Vande Mataram not sung at MP secretariat on Jan 1, heated debate between BJP, Congress erupts

The erstwhile Shivaj Singh Chouhan government of BJP had made a norm for singing the national song in the Mantralaya or secretariat on the first working day of every month.

Kamal Nath. Photo: PTI (File)

Bhopal: A row has sparked off between the BJP and Congress after "Vande Mataram" was not sung on the first working day of January at the Madhya Pradesh secretariat. The erstwhile Shivaj Singh Chouhan government of BJP had made a norm for singing the national song in the Mantralaya or secretariat on the first working day of every month. Speaking on the incident, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that the order "has been put on hold". The CM said that a decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form. He also asked if those who don't recite the Vande Mataram are not patriots. "The order to recite Vande Mataram in the Secretariat on the first day of the month has been put on hold. A decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form. Those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots?" said the CM. Speaking on the order, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "It's a mantra that instills a sense of patriotism and so the BJP government had decided that we'll start weekly cabinet meetings with it and that it'll be sung at Vallabh Bhavan (Secretariat) on the first day of every month."