Imran Khedawala
Khedawala countered the claim, stating that he was standing “until the original version got over” and that he took his seat during the rendition of stanzas “that the BJP has added”. Gandhinagar : The monsoon session of the Gujarat assembly got off to a chaotic start on Wednesday, with the ruling BJP alleging that Congress MLA Imran Khedawala disrespected Vande Mataram by remaining seated during its rendition.
“I remained standing for the portion of the song that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Rabindranath Tagore had endorsed since 1937. Because i do not subscribe to the BJP’s ideology,” he said, i sat down during the stanzas later added by the BJP as a mark of protest,.
They should clarify whether this is Khedawala’s personal stance or the party’s official stand,” he said. Vejalpur MLA Amit Thaker said, “Khedawala has insulted Vande Mataram, and this cannot be tolerated. However, Congress’s whip in the assembly, Kirit Patel, rejected the allegation, and said Khedawala remained standing during the rendition of Vande Mataram. He was right behind me,” he said. Patel further said he did not know whether Khedawala sat down “a minute or two early”. “But the claim that our member did not stand up during the rendition of the national song is completely false,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: He said Khedawala “stood up when Vande Mataram began but soon sat down, which amounts to an insult to the national song”.
Minister Pravin Mali stated that there was a tradition of opening the session with Vande Mataram and accused Khedawala of insulting the national song. “We demand an answer from Congress for this insult. He demanded that Khedawala apologise for his conduct. The speaker must be contemplating some action against the Congress MLA. “It is incorrect to say that he did not stand up. He did. He added that, much like the attempts being made at the Centre to malign Congress, some BJP members in the assembly are also in the habit of levelling such allegations. Khedawala clarified that he stood for the original section of the national song. He explained that even national Congress leaders have objected to the stanzas added by the BJP on grounds that BJP leaders are not greater than Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel or Babasaheb Ambedkar. Khedawala, who represents the Jamalpur-Khadia seat in Ahmedabad, is the lone Muslim MLA in Gujarat. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an apology. “Whenever the legislative assembly begins its session, there has been a tradition for years of starting the proceedings with Vande Mataram. Mali asked whether the act was an individual decision or reflected the Congress party’s position and demanded that the party clarify its stand and apologise.
Earlier reporting noted: BJP leaders including minister of state Pravin Mali condemned the incident. Earlier reporting noted: BJP asks Gujarat Congress MLA to apologise for sitting during Vande Mataram A controversy erupted in the Gujarat assembly on Wednesday after Congress MLA Imran Khedawala sat during part of the singing of the national song Vande Mataram at the start of the monsoon session. Today’s incident has tarnished this long-standing tradition,” Mali said.