Singing 'Vande Matram' not mandatory: Malviya

Dehra Dun, Aug 26 (UNI) Congress leader and former Union Minister Satya Prakash Malviya today endorsed Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh's statement regarding 'Vande Mataram' and opined that singing the national song should not be made mandatory in schools.

''It was Mr Singh's personal comment and has nothing to do with the party, and in a democracy everybody has the right to express his views,'' he told mediapersons.

Mr Malviya said the national anthem enjoys high status compared to the national song, and both could not be kept at the same platform, so where the former was mandatory to sing, the latter one was not.

Advocating the formation of smaller states, Mr Malviya said another Reformation State Commission should be constituted, keeping in view the aspirations and requirements of the states.

UNI LPT AD DS1537