09-08-2006, 09:40 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Sonia indulging in votebank politics, charges BJP </b>
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | Dehradun
The news that Sonia Gandhi did not attend the Congress function to commemorate 100 years of adoption of Vande Mataram as a national song was received with a sense of disbelief at the BJP national executive which began here on Thursday.Â
<b>"It was a conscious decision on the part of the Congress president to avoid the party function to mark the centenary celebration of the national song. It was not a casual decision. This is how she respects Vande Mataram, the song that many martyrs sang while embracing the gallows for the nation's freedom," </b>accused BJP president Rajnath Singh.
"It is unfortunate that the UPA Government was indulging in vote bank politics at the cost of the spirit of nationalism that the national song represents. The great song is being sacrificed at the altar of vote bank politics," Singh thundered at his inaugural address to the national executive meet.
"It is high time that Vande Mataram is brought under the ambit of Article 51A of the Constitution along with the national flag and the national anthem. The Government should amend the Constitution, and the BJP would support any such move," he added.
"The attitude of Sonia Gandhi vis-Ã -vis Vande Mataram is suggestive of the fact that she does not represent the legacy of the original Congress. She does not think it appropriate to celebrate the centenary of the national song. It is a serious matter," party national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
"Since Sonia Gandhi did not turn up, all Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh kept waiting for her, and finally did not sing the song," Prasad added.
The BJP has decided to constitute a five-member committee to work out the details to take up the issue of Vande Mataram with the masses across the country. The members of the committee are M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Arun Jaitley, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and Sanjay Joshi. A nationwide agitation would be launched.
<b>"We condemn such moves of the UPA Government that demean the symbols of national pride and prestige," </b>Singh said, adding that the BJP would not let the Congress succeed in denigrating Vande Mataram and the contribution of freedom fighters.
"The glorious cultural and civilisational past of the country is being assaulted and humiliated through the textbooks of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The nation is witnessing the worst form of minority appeasement only to run the Government at the Centre," he said.
<b>"BJP has to be mentally and organisationally prepared to meet the future challenges. There are several cracks in the UPA. Internal contradictions are deepening. Left parties have already said that they would withdraw the support if they have a better alternative,"</b> Singh said.
He alerted the cadre to be prepared for mid-term elections, as the UPA was dithering on all vital fronts.
"There are many power centres in the UPA. Along with the allies, even the ministers are behaving like autocrats. There is no promptness in governance. Development projects have no pace. Terrorism is spreading its tentacles everywhere," Singh said.
"The BJP is in favour of more stringent laws to address the problem of terrorism. If the Government has any reservation with POTA, they should think of other nomenclature, but the problem has to be dealt with iron hands. The present Government has turned blind eyes to the anti-India activities taking place in neighbouring countries," Singh said.
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Rajeev Ranjan Roy | Dehradun
The news that Sonia Gandhi did not attend the Congress function to commemorate 100 years of adoption of Vande Mataram as a national song was received with a sense of disbelief at the BJP national executive which began here on Thursday.Â
<b>"It was a conscious decision on the part of the Congress president to avoid the party function to mark the centenary celebration of the national song. It was not a casual decision. This is how she respects Vande Mataram, the song that many martyrs sang while embracing the gallows for the nation's freedom," </b>accused BJP president Rajnath Singh.
"It is unfortunate that the UPA Government was indulging in vote bank politics at the cost of the spirit of nationalism that the national song represents. The great song is being sacrificed at the altar of vote bank politics," Singh thundered at his inaugural address to the national executive meet.
"It is high time that Vande Mataram is brought under the ambit of Article 51A of the Constitution along with the national flag and the national anthem. The Government should amend the Constitution, and the BJP would support any such move," he added.
"The attitude of Sonia Gandhi vis-Ã -vis Vande Mataram is suggestive of the fact that she does not represent the legacy of the original Congress. She does not think it appropriate to celebrate the centenary of the national song. It is a serious matter," party national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
"Since Sonia Gandhi did not turn up, all Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh kept waiting for her, and finally did not sing the song," Prasad added.
The BJP has decided to constitute a five-member committee to work out the details to take up the issue of Vande Mataram with the masses across the country. The members of the committee are M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Arun Jaitley, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and Sanjay Joshi. A nationwide agitation would be launched.
<b>"We condemn such moves of the UPA Government that demean the symbols of national pride and prestige," </b>Singh said, adding that the BJP would not let the Congress succeed in denigrating Vande Mataram and the contribution of freedom fighters.
"The glorious cultural and civilisational past of the country is being assaulted and humiliated through the textbooks of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The nation is witnessing the worst form of minority appeasement only to run the Government at the Centre," he said.
<b>"BJP has to be mentally and organisationally prepared to meet the future challenges. There are several cracks in the UPA. Internal contradictions are deepening. Left parties have already said that they would withdraw the support if they have a better alternative,"</b> Singh said.
He alerted the cadre to be prepared for mid-term elections, as the UPA was dithering on all vital fronts.
"There are many power centres in the UPA. Along with the allies, even the ministers are behaving like autocrats. There is no promptness in governance. Development projects have no pace. Terrorism is spreading its tentacles everywhere," Singh said.
"The BJP is in favour of more stringent laws to address the problem of terrorism. If the Government has any reservation with POTA, they should think of other nomenclature, but the problem has to be dealt with iron hands. The present Government has turned blind eyes to the anti-India activities taking place in neighbouring countries," Singh said.
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