Sena revives Bill on Vande Mataram for BMC schools

The proposal, which seeks to make singing of Vande Mataram compulsory at morning assemblies of municipal schools, will now be taken up at the house’s next meeting on October 24. The proposal had been originally moved by Sena corporator, Parag Chavan, in December 1998.

After it was approved by the then Education Committee, it was discussed by the house but voting was deferred in face of strident criticism by a section of the opposition, notably SP leader Yusuf Abrahani.

Now after almost four years, the proposal has made a comeback on the house’s listed agenda. The BJP-Shiv Sena corporators backing the proposal argue that any opposition to Vande Mataram in schools needs to be ‘‘condemned and questioned’’.

Shiv Sena leader in the house, Prabhakar Shinde, said: ‘‘So many revolutionaries went to the gallows with a song on their lips and they included Muslims as well. Anyone who loves our country and is ready to die for it, would never say no to this patriotic song.”

BJP corporator Parag Alavani echoed Shinde’s views: ‘‘It is not a religious song and is in no way against the tenets of any religion as some SP members are claiming,’’ he said.

On the other hand, the SP which has 10 corporators, has declared it will vote against the proposal. Says SP leader Mohsin Haider: ‘‘Muslims are patriotic and our community has time and again, made sacrifices for the country. If we oppose Vande Mataram which is a religious song, it doesn’t mean we will become less patriotic.’’

Detailing the reasons behind his party’s opposition to the proposal, Haider said, ‘‘The song treats the country as a motherland and requires us to bow our head in its front. Our religion does not permit us to bow our head in front of anyone except the Almighty.’’

Ravindra Pawar of the NCP, which has 12 members in the house, said that the ruling combine has raised the proposal to deflect attention from its failure in alleviating the city’s civic problems. ‘‘They have scarcely done anything about the water scarcity that plagues the city, or the spread of malaria. We will vote against the proposal,’’ he said.

Congress leader K.A. Bastiwalla too condemned the proposal but was non-committal about his party’s strategy on the issue. ‘‘The SS-BJP, regrettably, are trying to make an issue of a non-issue,’’ he said.