BJP ground leaders should listen to top brass: SP backs Adityanath on Vande Mataram

Lucknow: While backing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his remark on Vande Mataram, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Sunday said that the ground leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should listen to their top brass and maintain harmony in the state.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Juhi Singh said that their party is a responsible opposition and would cooperate with their Chief Minister if he has expressed concern over the issue.

"As a responsible Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has expressed his feeling that why few people don't want to sing Vande Mataram. He has nowhere expressed compulsion over singing of the song, but has only urged people to change their mentality. His own party people should listen to him and should not force others to sing it. Nor is the Chief Minister is stressing on compulsion, nor the Prime Minister. So the ground leaders of the BJP should listen to their top leaders and should try to maintain the harmony that persists in Uttar Pradesh," Singh said.

Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that not singing the National Anthem is a serious issue, adding that by doing so it only highlighted one's prejudice.

Adityanath breaking his silence for the first time on this issue said that the people are extending this issue for no reason.

"We want to see development in this country, but our issue of conflict is over not singing the National Anthem and National song. Not singing Vande Mataram shows a prejudiced mind. This is a matter of concern," Aditynath said at the book unveiling function of 'Governor's guide' in Lucknow.

The Chief Minister's comments come after a controversy erupted over singing Vande Mataram in the Varanasi and Meerut Municipal corporations.

A week after the mayor of Meerut asked all corporators to either sing Vande Mataram or leave the country, BJP councilors at the Allahabad Nagar Nigam on Thursday demanded that a new rule be passed under which the House proceedings would start with the national song Vande Mataram and end with the national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

Some councilors objected to the proposal and it led to ruckus and disruption of the proceedings of the House.

Councilors in the Opposition alleged that BJP Councilors are raising this demand because of BJP coming to power in the state.

Earlier in February, the Supreme Court rejected the plea filed by leader and senior Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking direction to give equal respect to the national song as given to the national anthem.

Earlier, Upadhyay had filed a plea in the apex court, seeking directions to the Centre for issuing a policy to promote and propagate the national anthem, national flag and national song.

The petition sought a direction to frame a national policy to promote and propagate the national anthem, national song and national flag in spirit of Article 51A.

On November 30, a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, responding to the filed by Chouksey, had ordered all cinema halls to play the national anthem before the screening of a movie.

However, the court later made an amendment and said there is no need to compulsorily stand up when the national anthem is sung or played as part of a film or documentary.