Congress lashes out at BJP over Vande Mataram row in Meerut

Vande Mataram is being sung in in municipal meetings since long, but the protest broke out only after the Mayor passed a resolution making it mandatory.

With protests breaking out in the Meerut Municipal Corporation for making Vande Mataram mandatory in its meeting, the Congress on Friday said it is wrong to force someone to sing the patriotic song.

Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes told news agency ANI that one cannot be held guilty for not singing Vande Mataram as there is no law mandating it.

Another Congress leader P L Punia said, "I would like to say it would be wrong to force someone to sing."

The Meerut Municipal Corporation has declared that it would not let councillors unwilling to sing the patriotic song 'Vande Mataram' to attend its meetings. This led to a protest by seven corporators who cited a Supreme Court order that says singing of Vande Mataram is not mandatory.

Mayor Harikant Ahluwalia, who from BJP leader, on Tuesday passed a resolution by voice vote to make the singing mandatory for all members

Reports say that the Meerut Municipal Corporation is also mulling a proposal to terminate the membership of those councillors who do not sing the patriotic song.

During the protest, BJP councillors are said to have shouted slogans like, "Hindustan mein rehna hai to Vande Mataram kehna hoga (If you want to live in India, you have to sing Vande Mataram)."

OneIndia News