Vande Mataram row: Shivraj Chouhan slams Congress for ending 14-year-old tradition, says ‘nation comes first’

Bhopal: After Madhya Pradesh government decided to put the order to recite Vande Mataram in the Secretariat on hold on hold Former MP Shivraj Singh Chouhan he will sing Vande Mataram in the premises at 11 am on January 6. This move by the state government’s decision did not go down well with former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who slammed the Congress for breaking the 14-year-old tradition.

Talking to ANI, Chouhan said it’s a mantra that instills a sense of patriotism and that’s why the BJP government decided to start weekly cabinet meetings with it by singing Vande Mataram on 1st of every month.

“I made an appeal to the Chief Minister and Congress party to not break the tradition and recite the song at the Secretariat with pride. Vande Mataram is not just a song, it is a mantra that was used by the revolutionaries to make this country free from British’s control. The government keeps coming and going but one should know that the nation comes first,” Chouhan told news agency ANI.

Calling Kamal Nath-led Congress government’s decision unfortunate Chouhan demanded the previous order be restored. Earlier, CM Kamal Nath had said that decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form and questioned that those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots?

“We believe that we are nationalist by hearts. One can’t become patriotic by reciting Vande Mataram for one day. BJP should stop doing politics on nationalism. These issues are taken up to distract common men from the real issues of poverty, corruption and unemployment,” the MP CM added.