BENGALURU: Both Houses of the Karnataka legislature witnessed chaotic scenes after BJP legislators recited the full version of Vande Mataram at the beginning of the proceedings on Monday, when the recording that was officially played in both the Houses ended after two stanzas.
High drama unfolded in the Assembly after BJP members sang the full version of Vande Mataram, even as the official recording played only the first two stanzas.
BJP members took copies of the national song and continued singing while Speaker GS Patil read the Preamble of the Constitution and obituary references for prominent people who recently passed away.
BJP members had prepared sheets containing the full version of Vande Mataram and continued singing. However, the Speaker, including Congress members, started reading the Preamble. The BJP members, however, continued to sing. They kept singing even as the Speaker read the condolence messages.
Opposition slams Yathindra
The Council proceedings, too, began amid protests after only two of the six stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung, while BJP members continued reciting the remaining stanzas.
The recitation took place even as Council Chairman Saleem Ahmed began reading the Preamble. Following this, the opposition raised slogans, entered the well of the House and demanded an answer from the Chairman on why the full song was not sung.
Responding, Leader of the House Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah said the state government had ordered that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram be sung at its programmes, except those attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or Governor. Yathindra said, “His hands are tied, he can’t do anything on this matter.”
Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and other opposition members objected to Yathindra’s statement that the Chairman had no role in the matter. They questioned whether the Chairman belonged to the government or the House and said the remark was disrespectful to the Chair.
Chairman Ahmed assured the members that he would look into the records and expunge the statements, if required. However, not convinced by this, Narayanaswamy demanded that the Chair reprimand Yathindra. This resulted in a heated exchange between the two.
Amid the protests, DCM Dr G Parameshwara initiated the discussion on the Kasturirangan report, saying the Opposition was not interested in discussing issues concerning the people, such as drought and the Kasturirangan report, but was interested only in politics. The continued protest led to a brief adjournment of the Council.
When the Council resumed, Ahmed said he had spoken to both the ruling and Opposition sides regarding the Vande Mataram issue. He assured the House that he would discuss the matter with the government and decide how to proceed with the discussion on the issue.
