Mangaluru: Health minister UT Khader said that Narendra Modi has been the Prime Minister since 2014, however, the BJP remembered six stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram when elections were declared in West Bengal.
Wasn’t this song patriotic in 1977 when Morarji Desai was the Prime Minister?
But according to all the agreements and clarity from pre-Independence, post-Independence, and up until now, there were two stanzas, and we have been singing those same two stanzas all along. If they had genuine care, interest, and true patriotism regarding this song, they would have implemented it as soon as Morarji Desai took power, or later when Vajpayee served as Prime Minister for two terms, or immediately after Modi became the Prime Minister,” Khader said, adding that the state govt has decided how many stanzas of the national song should be sung during state programmes. Denying allegations of appeasement behind the state govt’s decision regarding the Vande Mataram issue, Khader said, “Whenever central govt programmes take place, we sing it completely.
Karnataka govt issued an order restricting the singing of Vande Mataram to its first two stanzas. “No one objects to singing Vande Mataram. Now, suddenly you say this is patriotic, this is national devotion. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister twice. Why didn’t the govt bring a law then? For state govt functions we have continued the tradition that has been there since Independence.”