UNION HRD Minister Arjun Singh, today evaded queries on the Vande Mataram controversy. Singh who was talking to mediaperons, said it was not wise to comment on any topic without understanding it properly. However, he said, a national committee, consisting of people from different political parties and headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had decided to celebrate the mutiny of 1857, martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and 100th anniversary of Vande Mataram across the country.
Arjun also ridiculed those who had launched a propaganda against Madarsas in the country.
Referring to the statement of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, in Parliament when Advani had said that Madarsas were the nursery of anti-national elements, Arjun said the BJP leader was told to issue a white paper on the matter but he failed to do so.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar organised by the Gandhian Institute of Studies at Jamia Salfiah Academic Institution here on the topic, ‘Banaras Ka Paigam: Sajha Virasat Ki Takat’ on Sunday.
On the occasion, he said the nation would never tolerate any sort of anti national activities in any academic institution be a Madarsa or a school. “But before initiating any legal action, we will have to ascertain whether such activities are really being carried out in academic institutions or not? It should not be propagated for vested political interests.”
Without naming the RSS, he said during the freedom struggle, Gandhi had fought against social evils of casteism, communalism and separatism. That is why he was assassinated. “But immature people did not know that wherever one drop of Gandhi’s blood fell, thousand Gandhis took birth”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Without naming the RSS, he said during the freedom struggle, Gandhi had fought against social evils of casteism, communalism and separatism. That is why he was assassinated. “But immature people did not know that wherever one drop of Gandhi’s blood fell, thousand Gandhis took birth”, he said.
{{/usCountry}}It was a great challenge before the citizen to keep the country united under the existing circumstances, he said. Varanasi had played a significant role in social harmony in the recent past, he added.