Click to play videoNew Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday toned down its demand that Vande Mataram be made compulsory and requested all communities to sing the national song on its centenary on September 7.
"It is not a question of compulsory or mandatory; it is a question of showing respect," said senior BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Union Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, who had "suggested" that Vande Mataram wasn’t compulsory, also tried to distance himself from the controversy. “Mujhe Maaf kar dijiye, please. Mujhe kuch nahi kehna Vande Matram pe,” he said. (Please forgive me, I haven’t said anything on the song)
After Arjun’s suggestion, BJP President Rajnath Singh issued a directive that Vande Matram must be recited in all educational institutions in BJP-ruled states.
Prasad’s statement has softened that stand. In 1998, Atal Bihary Vajpayee as Prime Minister withdrew a similar order passed by his office that Vande Matram must be recited on a compulsory basis in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Kalyan Singh, who was then UP’s chief minister, had even decided to sack his Education Minister for suggesting that song be compulsory.
The party has now again softened its stand after making a hue and cry about it.
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