New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Demanding an apology, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Harsh Malhotra on Saturday condemned the reported attempt to stop the singing of “Vande Mataram” at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day, calling the episode an “insult to the nation”.
“I strongly condemn this in the strongest possible terms,” Malhotra said, adding that the episode also amounted to violation of the rules laid down by the Parliament.
“We (BJP) demand that Congress immediately apologise to the nation. The Gandhi family must also clarify whether it has a problem with ‘Vande Mataram’ or with ‘Bharat Mata’,” the Delhi BJP Chief said.
Malhotra added, “The Gandhi family and Congress leadership have once again proved that they neither respect the nation, nor love the country’s culture, nor have any regard for the martyrs who kissed the noose while raising the slogan of ‘Vande Mataram’.”
The Parliament accorded “Vande Mataram” the status of the National Song in 1950 and insulting it amounts to disrespecting both the Constitution and the democratic institution.
He said the Congress has stooped so low in politics of appeasement that it has now started fearing even a patriotic song.
“As long as Congress considers patriotism a stigma, the nation will not forgive it,” he added.
Earlier, Malhotra led party workers in celebrating the Independence Day by hoisting the National Flag at the Delhi BJP office.
After hoisting the National Flag, the Delhi BJP President said that the nation felt proud as for first time that “Vande Mataram” was sung at Red Fort.
Malhotra added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address from the Red Fort spoke about the country’s development achievements over the past 12 years.
He also highlighted the importance of enabling women to contribute to nation-building through reservation and discussed new opportunities for the youth in the fields of education and employment.
Malhotra said that, in accordance with PM Modi’s call, all young BJP workers will actively contribute to the Census exercise and ensure that proper Census forms are filled out, starting from their own families and extending to society at large.
BJP leaders present at the event included MP Manoj Tiwari, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, State Office-Bearers Vishnu Mittal, Yogita Singh, Mohan Lal Gihara, Rajesh Bhatia, Sunil Yadav, Praveen Shankar Kapoor, Vikram Bidhuri, Richa Pandey Mishra, Sarika Jain, Kaushal Mishra, Kailash Jain, Gaurav Khari, Abhishek Tandon, Rohit Chahal, Santosh Ojha, Anis Abbasi, Santosh Pal, Rajat Chaudhary and Amit Gupta.
–IANS
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