‘Will she teach patriotism?' BJP on Sharmila Tagore's Vande Mataram remark

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) administration is grappling with a situation where only two stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung before a recent general body meeting, prompting Mayor Neeta Thakre to request an inquiry and action against the responsible parties. The incident has sparked a political rift between the BJP and Congress over the singing of the national song.

The Congress Working Committee had previously decided to limit the singing of Vande Mataram to the first two stanzas at party events, a move that has been met with criticism from the BJP. The NMC general body met at the District Planning Bhavan on Thursday, where the custom of singing Vande Mataram before House proceedings took place.

However, Congress corporator Abhijeet Jha claimed that only two stanzas were played, and he accused the House of failing to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birthday. NMC officials offered conflicting explanations, with Municipal Secretary Ranjana Lade citing the Sports and Cultural Department as responsible, while Sports Officer Piyush Ambulkar said it fell under the civic secretariat.

Thakre has now written to NMC Commissioner Vipin Itankar, demanding an inquiry and action to be taken against those responsible. She emphasized that Vande Mataram holds significant importance in the freedom struggle and that proper respect and discipline are expected when rendering it. The mayor described the partial rendition at a significant official meeting as inappropriate and asked the commissioner to determine why no action should be taken against those involved.

Thakre also sought a clear procedure for the singing of the National Anthem and Vande Mataram at NMC meetings to prevent such occurrences in the future.