Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said his government will follow the Congress’s decision to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, affirming that he stood by the party’s position.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) last week reaffirmed its 1937 resolution that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung at public and national gatherings.
The BJP had criticised Congress's decision on Vande Mataram, accusing the party of insulting the national song and alleging that the party was engaging in appeasement politics.
The Congress has argued that the later portions of Vande Mataram invoke Hindu goddesses such as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and that this could make them objectionable to people from other communities.
Shivakumar said he stood by the party’s ideology and reaffirmed that the same decision would be followed in Karnataka as well.
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said his government will follow the Congress’s decision to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, affirming that he stood by the party’s position. Dismissing the singing of all six stanzas at an Independence Day event in Karnataka, Shivakumar said the decision was taken without his knowledge and maintained that the government would stick to singing only the first two stanzas.
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"I believe in my party’s ideology. Whatever we have decided, I stand by that. I think without my knowledge, or in the Governor house, it may happen, but in future and in any government programmes, we will stand by what we had earlier, the two stanzas," he said at the India Today Roundtable in Karnataka, when asked bout the full reddition during the Independence Day event.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) last week reaffirmed its 1937 resolution that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung at public and national gatherings. The decision came after the new Vande Mataram Bill mandated the singing of all stanzas of the national song, and amid a political row between the Congress and the BJP over its rendition.
Commenting on the politics of appeasement in Indian politics, Shivakumar said the Congress believes in diversity and accused the BJP of practising appeasement politics.
"This is a country of diverse communities. The BJP is pursuing appeasement politics, whereas we believe in taking every section of society along with us. That is what our ideology stands for," Shivakumar said in his first media interview after assuming office as the Chief Minister.
The BJP had criticised Congress's decision on Vande Mataram, accusing the party of insulting the national song and alleging that the party was engaging in appeasement politics.
Shivakumar said India is a country of diverse languages, cultures and regions, and stressed that everyone must be respected.
"This is a country of different languages, cultures and regions. We respect everyone. There is no religion in the sun, water or air. You cannot change these things, you have to breathe the same air and drink the same water that everyone else does. So, is there any religion in the air, water, plants or the sun?" Shiva Kumar said when asked for his take on the Hindu vs Hindutva debate.
The Congress has argued that the later portions of Vande Mataram invoke Hindu goddesses such as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and that this could make them objectionable to people from other communities. Shivakumar said he stood by the party’s ideology and reaffirmed that the same decision would be followed in Karnataka as well.
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