New Delhi: Two Congress councillors, Rubina Iqbal Khan and Fauzia Sheikh Alim, have been booked by the Indore police for refusing to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ during a municipal Corporation’s budget session on 8 April. Both women have said that Islam doesn’t allow them to sing the national song.
As per reports, a case has been registered against Khan and Alim at the MG Road police station in Indore under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony between different communities).
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava alleged that Alim deliberately arrives at the municipal corporation meeting so that she doesn’t have to sing Vande Mataram. According to a Deccan Herald report, Alim said she got up during the meeting to raise the issue of contaminated drinking water, but BJP councillors started asking her to sing the song instead. The House was in a state of unrest when she refused to sing, with BJP members rushing to the Chairman’s podium to raise slogans against her. Chairman Munnalal Yadav reportedly asked Alim to leave the premises.
Khan joined in later when things started to heat up; she echoed Alim’s stance and refused to sing Vande Mataram.
“I became the sole villain because Fauzia ji walked out after saying her piece,” Khan told an MP News anchor in an exclusive interview. She also said that she respects the national anthem and the national song.
Both Alim and Khan are receiving hate comments online and being vehemently opposed by political parties. Chintu Chouksey, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the civic body, distanced the party from their remarks.
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Who are the women councillors?
Both Khan and Alim have been working at the Indore Municipal Corporation for the past 15 years. Khan joined the Congress after winning the civic election as an independent candidate before 2015, as per reports.
After the uproar in the House, the councillors were summoned by police and reportedly questioned for over four hours. They have maintained that the Constitution gives them religious freedom.
“Our Islamic law, the Quran, clearly says that if you worship anything other than Allah, you will not be forgiven. You may steal or lie, and even that can be forgiven, but we cannot worship trees, plants, or animals. How can we worship Mother Earth? I explained this to them very clearly—that is why we do not want to sing ‘Vande Mataram’. How can you force us?” Khan told MP News.
Unlike Alim, who maintains a low profile, Khan has been vocal about land mafia, love jihad, and the rights of Muslims in India. “Musalman yahin tumhari chaati pe moong dalenge (Muslims will not leave this country),” she told BJP councillors in 2025 in a heated debate at the Indore Municipal Corporation.
When news reporters asked Khan what she would do if Congress withdraws support amid the ongoing ‘Vande Mataram’ row, she said, “Let Congress go to hell if it doesn’t support Muslims.” She added that if it comes to that, she will join Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM. Khan later apologised for her remarks on 11 April.