Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20 (PTI) The BJP will hold Vande Mataram gatherings at all district headquarters in Keralam on Friday, protesting the state government’s alleged omission of the national song from its Independence Day celebrations.
The programmes, to be held in all 30 organisational districts, are aimed at protesting the government’s alleged disregard for Vande Mataram and the “communal and divisive agenda” of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian Union Muslim League, BJP state general secretary S Suresh said.
Senior BJP leaders will inaugurate the programmes at various district centres, he said in a statement issued here.
Suresh alleged that the V D Satheesan-led UDF government had omitted Vande Mataram from its official programmes “fearing” the IUML and Jamaat-e-Islami.
He said the omission of Vande Mataram, a symbol of nationalism, for “vote-bank politics” was an “insult” to Keralam’s traditions and its history of the freedom struggle.
“Vande Mataram does not belong to any political party or any particular section. It is a national song that inspired crores of Indians during the freedom struggle,” Suresh said.
He alleged that the Congress government in Keralam had “degenerated to a level where it is not even willing to sing Vande Mataram” due to its alleged fear of the IUML and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Vande Mataram was not sung at the state government’s official Independence Day function in Thiruvananthapuram on August 15, while it was rendered in full at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi and at official programmes in Congress-ruled Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana, he said. PTI LGK SSK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.