LUCKNOW: Singing ‘Vande Mataram’ will be made compulsory in educational institutions across Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi Adityanath said on Monday.
Addressing an ‘Ekta Yatra’ (Unity March) event in Gorakhpur to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the national song, he said this step would inspire feelings of reverence and pride among citizens towards the motherland.
There should be a sense of respect for ‘Vande Mataram’, he stressed, noting that anybody opposing the national song is insulting the country’s unity and integrity.
“Every citizen of India must stand united for this cause,” the Chief Minister emphasised, adding, “There is no point in opposing the Vande Mataram’. No religion or caste can be greater than the country. We must set aside beliefs that hinder national unity.”
Notably, the move comes days after a political row erupted over the national song when Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that dropping key stanzas of the song in 1937 had “sown the seeds of Partition” and that such a “divisive mindset” remained a challenge for the country. The remarks were widely interpreted as an attack on the Congress.
The BJP also accused the Congress of pandering to a “communal agenda” under Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership by adopting a truncated version of the song that year. The Congress hit back sharply, alleging that Modi had “insulted” the 1937 Congress Working Committee and Rabindranath Tagore, who had suggested adopting only the first two stanzas.
‘National pride’
CM says move meant to inspire feelings of reverence and pride among citizens
Accuses those against the move of hurting country’s unity and integrity
Yogi stresses that no religion or caste can be greater than the country