Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said singing Vande Mataram would be made mandatory in all schools across the state, seeking to mine the controversy over the national song to draw political mileage for the BJP ahead of the second phase of polling in Bihar.
Addressing an Ekta Yatra (Unity March) in Gorakhpur, he said this step would inspire a feeling of reverence and pride among citizens towards “Bharat Mata” and the motherland.
“There should be a sense of respect for the national song Vande Mataram. We will make its singing compulsory in every school and educational institution of Uttar Pradesh,” he said at the event to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel. BJP governments across the country have planned month-long celebrations in Patel’s honour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ignited a political row last week by reciting extracts from Vande Mataram that carry religious connotations and alleging that the Congress’s adoption of only the first two stanzas as the national song in 1937 “sowed the seeds for the division of India”.
A Hindutva hardliner, Adityanath had campaigned extensively in Bihar, where the last phase of polling on 122 seats would be held on Tuesday. BJP sources have said the party didn’t get encouraging feedback from the ground after the first phase of polling on 121 seats on November 6.
“Our internal reports suggest that projecting Nitish Kumar once again as the NDA’s chief ministerial face may hurt us in Bihar. We need something else to pull voters in the second phase. But we don’t need to be on the spot to campaign. The news of Adityanath’s decision will reach Bihar through the media and may help us,” a senior BJP leader said on Monday.
At the Gorakhpur event, Adityanath said: “Vande Mataram has also completed 150 years. A Samajwadi Party MP didn’t attend a function (in New Delhi) to show respect to Sardar Patel, but attended a function to show his trust in (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah. We must identify those who divide our society. This kind of division in the name of caste, region and language is part of a conspiracy to create a new Jinnah,” he said.
He urged people to ensure that no new Jinnah ever arose in India again, and if anyone dared to challenge the nation’s integrity, “we must bury such divisive intent before it can take root”.
Adityanath said there was no justification for opposing Vande Mataram. “The opposition to Vande Mataram was the reason behind the partition of India,” he said.
Zia-ur-Rahman Barq, the Samajwadi Party MP of Sambhal, had said two days ago that singing Vande Mataram was difficult for Muslims because they were not supposed to bow before anyone but God.
“I have never shown any disrespect for our leaders of the past, but we will not recite Vande Mataram at any cost,” he had said at a media interaction in Sambhal.
“Vande Mataram” can be translated both as “I praise thee, Mother” and “I bow to thee, Mother”. The second formulation can be problematic for Muslims.
Noora Ahmad, a Muslim cleric, said: “Vande Mataram is a prayer for worshipping the motherland. We have great respect for our country, but Islam is against any puja.”