Kamal Nath Says Order to Recite Vande Mataram on 1st Day of Month in MP Secretariat 'Put on Hold'

Bhopal, January 1: Under flak from the Opposition for discontinuing the recitation of Vande Mataram at the Mantralaya or Secretariat on the first day of each month, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said he has "put on hold" the order issued by the erstwhile government to mandatorily recite the song.

In a rebuttal to his critics, Nath on Sunday questioned whether one's patriotism should only be judged based on whether he is singing the Vande Mataram or not. "(Are) those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots," he asked. Prakash Ambedkar Toes Asaduddin Owaisi's Line on Vande Mataram, Says 'Those Who Sing it are Anti-India'.

"The order to recite Vande Mataram in the Secretariat on first day of month has been put on hold. A decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form," the CM further added.

Here is what Nath said on the Vande Mataram row:

The order to recite Vande Mataram on the first day of each month was issued by the former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in 2005.

"It's unfortunate that Congress ended this tradition. I demand the Congress govt to reintroduce this and if they don't do it, I will sing Vande Matram with my fellow patriots at Vallabh Bhavan. I've decided that I will sing Vande Matram in the premises at 11 am on January 6," Chouhan said.

The BJP agitated by Nath's decision, asked whether the Congress government would continue to undermine the people's express of patriotism. "He (Nath) has recently said that he does not care for criticism. Is there (also) going to be a ban on 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' chant," asked BJP's state spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 01, 2019 11:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).