Standing for national anthem part of our culture: CM Manohar Parrikar

PANAJI: Irrespective of the decision coming out of the debate about the standing up when the national anthem is played in cinema halls, chief minister Manohar Parrikar said that according to him one must stand up when the national anthem is being played.

Chief minister said when he had gone for an event, the organizers asked him whether there is a judgement which said that there is no need to stand when the national anthem is played or if it is not compulsory now to stand for national anthem and what should be done.

"I asked what is the judgement, (they said) it is not compulsory to stand. I told them we should not go into the merits of judgement but you can stand up when the national anthem is played to pay respect to national anthem, as there is no restriction saying not to stand for national anthem," he said.

He was speaking at the concluding function of sixth annual state-level conference 'Emotional Intelligence' organized by Gomantak Balshiskshan Parishad and directorate of education, at Panaji.

Parrikar said, "I am not going into whether the judgement is right or wrong, but according to me it is not correct."