Vande Mataram: Arjun in line of fire
VHP flays Arjun Singh's stand on Vande Mataram
Allahabad (UP), Aug 22: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today attacked Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh for his reported statement that singing the national song 'Vande Mataram' was not mandatory.
"The HRD Minister's latest statement is aimed clearly at his vote bank. By doing so, he has gone to the extent of violating the Constitution as Vande Mataram was granted the special status at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly," VHP international president Ashok Singhal told a press conference here.
Singhal also said the statement of Shahi Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari's that the national song was against Islamic beliefs "smacks of an anti-national and separatist mindset." He questioned the rationale behind the opposition to Vande Mataram by Bukhari and other Muslim leaders.
"Vande Mataram does not aim to worship the country or the land. It is a song in which the country is given the status of one's mother and all its inhabitants are shown as her children," he said.
Singhal warned that by asking Muslims not to sing Vande Mataram, the leaders will "further isolate the community".
The VHP leader said he did not consider the entire Muslim community as supporters of terrorism.
Vande Mataram: Arjun in line of fire
[ 23 Aug, 2006 0032hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Having got a pet 'nationalist' issue to attack the government with, opposition BJP on Tuesday stepped up its offensive against the UPA government on the Vande Mataram controversy in Parliament and plans to continue the campaign outside the House too.
The national song row rocked both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with agitated BJP and Shiv Sena members accusing the government of trying to appease minority communities.
In both Houses, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine disrupted proceedings, forcing repeated adjournments. While RS was finally adjourned for the day amid uproarious scenes, Question Hour was disrupted in LS with opposition members chanting Vande Mataram .
Targetting HRD minister Arjun Singh on the issue, BJP even threatened legal action against him for 'insulting' the national song by declaring there was no compulsion on anybody to sing it on September 7.
"His statement is a crime. He should be booked for insulting the national song," BJP spokesman V K Malhotra said.
Singh was also accused of surrendering to anti-national forces for his remarks that schoolchildren would not be forced to sing Vande Mataram on September 7 to mark the centenary of its adoption, following refusal by some Muslim clerics to abide by a Central directive on the national song.
In the House, BJP and Sena members were unrelenting despite a categorical assertion by Singh that official notification to states on recitation of Vande Mataram on September 7 has not been changed.
Sing with me : Vande Mataram - disregard what antisocial anti-Indians say to make it optional
Preetam Sohani
Aug. 22, 2006
Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.
No it is not optional in my books.
No it is not optional for Hindutva movements.
Let sing again : Vande Mataram.
The Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena sought to raise the Vande Mataram issue during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
The movement has just started.
It is time for Indian nationalism. It is time for Hindutva grass root movements. It is time to treat all Indians equally but without damaging Indian ''parampara''- the tradition.
According to media reports, As soon as the House met for the day, Manohar Joshi sought to raise the issue but Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the issue could be discussed after Question Hour.
"I don''t have any objection to the issue being discussed," he said even as BJP members joined Joshi in raising the matter.
Sushma Swaraj said the BJP would raise the issue during Zero Hour.
Vande Mataram rocks House
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2006 01:14:47 AM]
NEW DELHI: In what has become a habitual occurrence, yet another old and shoddy controversy took centre stage in Parliament on Tuesday.
While it was the issue of manipulating textbooks along ideological lines just a few days ago, this time the occasion was provided by the fracas surrounding the centenary celebrations of ‘Vande Mataram’.
The Parliament erupted with the Opposition, led by the BJP and Shiv Sena, stalling both Houses over what they, predictably, termed the “minority appeasement” policy of the government and HRD minister Arjun Singh.
They charged that Mr Singh had, in response to objections raised by a particular section of the minority community, waived the ministry’s directive of singing the national song in all schools and educational institutions on September 7.
The issue rocked Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned for the day over the issue, and also led to noisy scenes in the Lok Sabha. The government had relaxed the ministry’s directive — which had asked all educational institutions to sing the first two stanzas of the song--after it led to protests from a section of the Muslim clergy, which claimed that singing the song was against Islamic beliefs.
The Rajya Sabha, in fact, saw five adjournments on the issue. The NDA, supported by AIADMK and TDP members, did not allow the House to function after question hour in the morning, though some business was conducted later during the day amidst quite a din.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi raised the issue during Zero hour, saying some fundamentalists were resisting the national song on religious grounds. He added that Mr Singh’s statement (in which he had said that singing Vande Mataram on September 7 would be a voluntary act) had created confusion.
According to Mr Naqvi, the HRD minister had told a gathering of Ulemas that the whole thing was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s idea, and not his.
Mr Naqvi was joined by Shiva Sena leader Manohar Joshi who asked why the HRD minister had changed his stand. He then supplied his own ready-made answer: that it was due to Mr Singh’s “minority appeasement” policy. This statement created a furore with the Congress, SP, Left and RJD members accusing Mr Joshi of casting aspersions on the minorities.
They asked for his comments to be withdrawn and deleted from record, but chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat upheld the statements and allowed Mr Arjun Singh the right of response.
In his reply, Mr Singh read out a letter he had sent to state governments directing that “... as befitting a final, the first two stanzas of (Vande Mataram) should be sung simultaneously at all schools and colleges.”
Responding to charges that he had changed his stand Mr Singh asked: “Where is there a question of any change (in stance)?” He said the media had asked him if he had issued a “compulsory” directive, to which he had answered that the national song would be sung “collectively” and those who wanted to participate could do so.
Even after the minister’s reply Opposition members continued to stall the House, trooping into the well with cries of ‘Vande Mataram’ each time the House reassembled. To take matters further, they even took to greeting the Chair with ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of their customary ‘namastes’.
In the Lok Sabha, the issue disrupted question hour leading to two adjournments. Mr Singh, in the Lok Sabha, said his government had never said singing the song would be “compulsory”.
The Hindutva parties, BJP and the Shiv Sena, held that not singing the song was tantamount to “insulting” martyrs, and demanded that each citizen should show respect for the song.
Other opposition MPs took the hardline view that those 'who wanted to live in this country' should sing the song. In response to the Oppositions' tactic of stalling Parliament, the Congress charged the BJP with playing its usual communal politics.
The BJP, on its part, counter-accused the Congress and Mr Arjun Singh in particular, of succumbing to the demands of “Islamic fundamentalists”.
The Opposition to singing Vande Matarm was voiced by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Syed Bhukhari. He had held that according to Islamic tenets, when it came to worship, only Allah could be given that honour. This line was echoed by some minority community MPs.
Allahabad (UP), Aug 22: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today attacked Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh for his reported statement that singing the national song 'Vande Mataram' was not mandatory.
"The HRD Minister's latest statement is aimed clearly at his vote bank. By doing so, he has gone to the extent of violating the Constitution as Vande Mataram was granted the special status at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly," VHP international president Ashok Singhal told a press conference here.
Singhal also said the statement of Shahi Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari's that the national song was against Islamic beliefs "smacks of an anti-national and separatist mindset." He questioned the rationale behind the opposition to Vande Mataram by Bukhari and other Muslim leaders.
"Vande Mataram does not aim to worship the country or the land. It is a song in which the country is given the status of one's mother and all its inhabitants are shown as her children," he said.
Singhal warned that by asking Muslims not to sing Vande Mataram, the leaders will "further isolate the community".
The VHP leader said he did not consider the entire Muslim community as supporters of terrorism.
Vande Mataram: Arjun in line of fire
[ 23 Aug, 2006 0032hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Having got a pet 'nationalist' issue to attack the government with, opposition BJP on Tuesday stepped up its offensive against the UPA government on the Vande Mataram controversy in Parliament and plans to continue the campaign outside the House too.
The national song row rocked both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with agitated BJP and Shiv Sena members accusing the government of trying to appease minority communities.
In both Houses, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine disrupted proceedings, forcing repeated adjournments. While RS was finally adjourned for the day amid uproarious scenes, Question Hour was disrupted in LS with opposition members chanting Vande Mataram .
Targetting HRD minister Arjun Singh on the issue, BJP even threatened legal action against him for 'insulting' the national song by declaring there was no compulsion on anybody to sing it on September 7.
"His statement is a crime. He should be booked for insulting the national song," BJP spokesman V K Malhotra said.
Singh was also accused of surrendering to anti-national forces for his remarks that schoolchildren would not be forced to sing Vande Mataram on September 7 to mark the centenary of its adoption, following refusal by some Muslim clerics to abide by a Central directive on the national song.
In the House, BJP and Sena members were unrelenting despite a categorical assertion by Singh that official notification to states on recitation of Vande Mataram on September 7 has not been changed.
Sing with me : Vande Mataram - disregard what antisocial anti-Indians say to make it optional
Preetam Sohani
Aug. 22, 2006
Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.
No it is not optional in my books.
No it is not optional for Hindutva movements.
Let sing again : Vande Mataram.
The Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena sought to raise the Vande Mataram issue during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
The movement has just started.
It is time for Indian nationalism. It is time for Hindutva grass root movements. It is time to treat all Indians equally but without damaging Indian ''parampara''- the tradition.
According to media reports, As soon as the House met for the day, Manohar Joshi sought to raise the issue but Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the issue could be discussed after Question Hour.
"I don''t have any objection to the issue being discussed," he said even as BJP members joined Joshi in raising the matter.
Sushma Swaraj said the BJP would raise the issue during Zero Hour.
Vande Mataram rocks House
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2006 01:14:47 AM]
NEW DELHI: In what has become a habitual occurrence, yet another old and shoddy controversy took centre stage in Parliament on Tuesday.
While it was the issue of manipulating textbooks along ideological lines just a few days ago, this time the occasion was provided by the fracas surrounding the centenary celebrations of ‘Vande Mataram’.
The Parliament erupted with the Opposition, led by the BJP and Shiv Sena, stalling both Houses over what they, predictably, termed the “minority appeasement” policy of the government and HRD minister Arjun Singh.
They charged that Mr Singh had, in response to objections raised by a particular section of the minority community, waived the ministry’s directive of singing the national song in all schools and educational institutions on September 7.
The issue rocked Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned for the day over the issue, and also led to noisy scenes in the Lok Sabha. The government had relaxed the ministry’s directive — which had asked all educational institutions to sing the first two stanzas of the song--after it led to protests from a section of the Muslim clergy, which claimed that singing the song was against Islamic beliefs.
The Rajya Sabha, in fact, saw five adjournments on the issue. The NDA, supported by AIADMK and TDP members, did not allow the House to function after question hour in the morning, though some business was conducted later during the day amidst quite a din.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi raised the issue during Zero hour, saying some fundamentalists were resisting the national song on religious grounds. He added that Mr Singh’s statement (in which he had said that singing Vande Mataram on September 7 would be a voluntary act) had created confusion.
According to Mr Naqvi, the HRD minister had told a gathering of Ulemas that the whole thing was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s idea, and not his.
Mr Naqvi was joined by Shiva Sena leader Manohar Joshi who asked why the HRD minister had changed his stand. He then supplied his own ready-made answer: that it was due to Mr Singh’s “minority appeasement” policy. This statement created a furore with the Congress, SP, Left and RJD members accusing Mr Joshi of casting aspersions on the minorities.
They asked for his comments to be withdrawn and deleted from record, but chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat upheld the statements and allowed Mr Arjun Singh the right of response.
In his reply, Mr Singh read out a letter he had sent to state governments directing that “... as befitting a final, the first two stanzas of (Vande Mataram) should be sung simultaneously at all schools and colleges.”
Responding to charges that he had changed his stand Mr Singh asked: “Where is there a question of any change (in stance)?” He said the media had asked him if he had issued a “compulsory” directive, to which he had answered that the national song would be sung “collectively” and those who wanted to participate could do so.
Even after the minister’s reply Opposition members continued to stall the House, trooping into the well with cries of ‘Vande Mataram’ each time the House reassembled. To take matters further, they even took to greeting the Chair with ‘Vande Mataram’ instead of their customary ‘namastes’.
In the Lok Sabha, the issue disrupted question hour leading to two adjournments. Mr Singh, in the Lok Sabha, said his government had never said singing the song would be “compulsory”.
The Hindutva parties, BJP and the Shiv Sena, held that not singing the song was tantamount to “insulting” martyrs, and demanded that each citizen should show respect for the song.
Other opposition MPs took the hardline view that those 'who wanted to live in this country' should sing the song. In response to the Oppositions' tactic of stalling Parliament, the Congress charged the BJP with playing its usual communal politics.
The BJP, on its part, counter-accused the Congress and Mr Arjun Singh in particular, of succumbing to the demands of “Islamic fundamentalists”.
The Opposition to singing Vande Matarm was voiced by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Syed Bhukhari. He had held that according to Islamic tenets, when it came to worship, only Allah could be given that honour. This line was echoed by some minority community MPs.
Labels: Hindutva, Vande Mataram
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