BHOPAL: A stormy session of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on Wednesday saw a heated confrontation after Congress councillor Fauziya Sheikh Alim refused to sing the national song “Vande Mataram”, triggering protests from BJP members even as the House passed a Rs 8,455 crore budget.
Asked by Chairman Munna Lal Yadav to leave the House following the ruckus, Alim walked out. The controversy also exposed divisions within the Congress, with Leader of Opposition Chintu Chokse distancing the party from her stand.
“Not singing Vande Mataram, could be an individual member’s own choice, but for the party, the national song and national anthem were supreme. The national anthem and national song run in Congress’s blood, it should be compulsorily sung by one and all, irrespective of caste and religious affiliations. If any member doesn’t sing the national song, it’s wrong. It may be her individual opinion or choice, but the Congress party isn’t with her on this issue,” he said.
The concerned Congress councillor Fauziya Sheikh Alim later justified her decision of not singing Vande Mataram, saying it wasn’t permitted in Islam and the Quran. Third-time Congress councillor from the same minority community Rubina Iqbal defended Alim in the House as well as outside.
Iqbal even went on to dare the shouting BJP councillors, “Ek baap ki aulad ho toh bulwa kar dikhao (If you're truly your father’s child, then make us say it.”
Outside the House, the same third-time councillor was even critical of her own party leader Chintu Chouksey for distancing himself from Alim on the issue. “We only worship Allah, why should we worship Mata (mother), when we don’t even worship our own mother. Singing Vande Mataram is against Islam and the Quran. If the Congress party is not with us on this issue, then let it go to hell. For the Congress, it seems that Muslims are just meant for getting votes. We'll then join the AIMIM, which has won by major votes in Mumbai. We haven’t signed a lifetime contract with the Congress, if it doesn’t care for our sentiments, we too will join Owaisi’s (Asaduddin Owaisi) party.”
Later, the Congress corporator Fauziya Sheikh Aleem, whose refusal to sing the national song triggered the entire ruckus, told journalists, “I came late to the House, due to which they (BJP councillors) latched on to a topic. The Constitution has granted us the right to practise our religion and speak our language. Nowhere is it mentioned that you can prove your love for India only by singing Vande Mataram.”
Alim further said that she had stood up to speak at the municipal corporation meeting to raise the issue of contaminated drinking water, but in an attempt to distract the House from the more fundamental issues, BJP councillors asked her to sing “Vande Mataram” first.
Justifying his decision to ask the concerned councillor (Alim) to leave the House, the chairman Munna Lal Yadav said, “She (Alim) was asked to leave the House, as she used indecent words for the national song.”
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava described the Congress councillor’s refusal to sing “Vande Mataram” as unfortunate and alleged that she deliberately arrives late to the municipal corporation meeting so as not to participate in the mass singing of the national song.
“Its unfortunate that decades after the country's independence, we still have people, who can offer tributes to leaders of Iran, but are not ready to sing in the praise of Bharat Mata (Mother India).