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VHP, Bajrang Dal go hi-tech
DURING THE tenure of the NDA Government a row had erupted over the singing of the Vande Mataram. Passions were soothed only when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decreed that singing of the national song was not compulsory. The row has returned to haunt the nation once again in the centenary year of the song and the out-of-power Hinduvta brigade is going hi-tech to make the most out of the issue.
DURING THE tenure of the NDA Government a row had erupted over the singing of the Vande Mataram. Passions were soothed only when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decreed that singing of the national song was not compulsory. The row has returned to haunt the nation once again in the centenary year of the song and the out-of-power Hinduvta brigade is going hi-tech to make the most out of the issue.
To explain their stand to the public on the present controversy, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (BD) have decided to use SMSes and the Internet.
The VHP and the BD plan to expose the Union Government’s “minority appeasement policy” and appeal to the people that though the Centre had “bowed before the pressure of the Muslim clerics” they should ensure that the song was sung on September 7.
BD national coordinator Prakash Sharma said industrial and commercial houses with employee strength of 50 or more were being approached to ensure that Vande Mataram was sung on September 7.
The VHP’s message being spread through the Internet also carries a small appeal by its leader Ashok Singhal. It also gives reference to the 1906 Congress conference, where the Vande Mataram was adopted as the national song.
Sharma said people would be told about the relation of the song and the Partition. He claimed that documents show that one of the three conditions that Jinnah had put before Mahatma Gandhi was stripping Vande Mataram of its status of the national song.
He said the issue was not just political but also linked to the country’s integrity and respect. He added if the BJP wanted to join the campaign they were welcome.
