Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has slammed the Congress-led state government for not playing Vande Mataram at Secretariat on the first working day of January.
Stating that the national song instils sense of patriotism, Chouhan asked the Kamala Nath-led government to reintroduce the practice of reciting Vande Mataram on the first working day 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 ANI on Tuesday.
"It's unfortunate that Congress ended this tradition. I demand Congress government to reintroduce this and if they don't do it, I will sing Vande Matram with patriots at Vallabh Bhavan. I've decided that I will sing Vande Mataram in the premises at 11 am on January 6," he added.
On Tuesday, Nath said that his 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.
"We've no intentions of breaking or protesting against the national song. The order to recite Vande Mataram in the Secretariat on the first day of the month has been put on hold. A decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form. Those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots?" Nath said.
"We believe that we are nationalist by hearts. One can't become patriotic by reciting Vande Mataram for one day," he added.
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