Gandhinagar, Sep 9 (IANS) The ‘Vande Mataram’ song controversy in the Gujarat Assembly is set to come up for further consideration on the second day of the Monsoon session, with a group of Ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators meeting Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary on Wednesday and submitting a representation over Congress MLA Imran Khedawala’s conduct during the rendition of the national song.
Chaudhary confirmed to IANS that he had received the representation from the Ministers.
Sources said the Assembly Speaker is likely to speak on the matter on Thursday and issue necessary instructions, potentially bringing the dispute over the rendition into focus during the second day of the three-day session.
Government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani, who was part of the delegation that met Speaker Chaudhary, said the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ at the beginning of Assembly proceedings was a long-standing legislative tradition and was not introduced by the BJP government.
“This is a tradition and system of the Assembly. The Assembly functions according to its traditions, systems and rules. The singing of Vande Mataram has been a tradition since around the time the Assembly was constituted. The BJP has not started this tradition,” Vaghani added.
He said the delegation had discussed with the Speaker the Assembly’s traditions, procedures and the powers available to the Chair, particularly where there was an alleged breach of the rules or established practice.
The representation was submitted by a delegation that included Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, Ministers Kanu Desai, Rushikesh Patel, Pravin Mali and MLA Mahesh Kaswala, and BJP General Secretary and MLA Aniruddhsinh Jadeja.
Vaghani said ‘Vande Mataram’ should not be treated as a political issue and accused Khedawala of taking a position that could not be considered merely personal because he is an elected representative.
“Vande Mataram is not a subject of politics. It is a matter of faith, devotion and nationalism for our country,” he said, adding that an elected representative is bound by the rules and procedures applicable to the Assembly.
The controversy began on the opening day of the Monsoon session after Khedawala sat down during the rendition of national song.
Responding to the criticism, Khedawala told IANS that he had stood through the traditional rendition and had sat down only when what he described as an additional stanza was sung.
He said the decision reflected his personal ideological position and that he had participated respectfully in the traditional rendition.
Vaghani rejected the description of the matter as a personal stand and said the state government would not accept what it considers an insult to ‘Vande Mataram’.
He also demanded that the Congress clarify its position on Khedawala’s conduct.
The Assembly Speaker’s expected intervention on Thursday is likely to determine the next step on the representation submitted by the state government side.
–IANS
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