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Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has slammed the Congress-led state government for not playing Vande Mataram at the Secretariat on the first working day of January, according to ANI.
The Congress on Tuesday, 1 January, said that the state government has decided to put on hold the previous BJP government’s tradition to recite the national song in the secretariat on the first working day of every month, reported ANI.
All the 109 MLAs will recite Vande Matram at the Madhya Pradesh Secretariat in Bhopal on 7 January, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
BJP party President Amit Shah too slammed the MP government for “betraying the people of the state”.
In a Facebook post, Shah alleged that Congress is making Madhya Pradesh, the “heart of Hindustan”, a centre of its “appeasement” policy.
The BJP chief said 'Vande Mataram' does not belong to any particular community and instead it is a symbol of the sacrifice of lakhs of warriors who laid down their lives for the freedom of India.
However, reacting to the BJP’s charges, Chief Minister Kamal Nath questioned if those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots. Hitting back at the party, Nath also said that “BJP, who doesn’t have a single freedom fighter should not teach us nationalism”.
He also announced to restore singing of 'Vande Mataram' at the state secretariat from next month, in a new form with a police band and local citizens besides adding the national anthem in the exercise.
(With inputs from ANI)
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