Shimla, Aug 21 — Ruckus prevailed in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on first day of the Monsoon session on Friday with the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raising objections over the non-rendition of the national song, Vande Mataram, with the House being adjourned within 10 minutes of the proceedings.
As the House assembled in the morning, BJP members raised the issue of non-rendition of Vande Matram at the onset of the session.
Its member Vipin Singh Parmar raised the issue and sought permission from Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania to speak on the matter.
Parmar said that the Congress had insulted the national song by deciding to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram at its events.
He contended that the Central government had enacted a new law making it mandatory to sing the entire song, and by deciding otherwise, the Congress had violated the law.
As the pandemonium continued between the Opposition and Treasury benches with counter-sloganeering, Speaker Pathania adjourned the House till Saturday.
Speaker Pathania clarified that Central government's law regarding Vande Mataram "does not apply to state Legislative Assemblies and is intended only for government functions".
However, he said that, notwithstanding this, the full version of Vande Mataram would be sung at the conclusion of the Assembly session.
The Speaker said that in keeping with tradition the Assembly session begins with the national anthem and concludes with the national song.
He urged the Opposition to cooperate in conducting the House proceedings, saying that the first day of the session is reserved for obituary references and paying tribute to departed members.
He said it would not be appropriate to fail to pay homage to former members.
Despite the Speaker's appeal, the Opposition remained adamant about presenting its stance on Vande Mataram and began raising slogans.
As the Opposition started shouting slogans, members of Congress also began raising counter-slogans, leading to a massive uproar in the House.
The ruckus persisted for a few minutes, and when normalcy could not be restored, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly proceedings until 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Outside the Assembly, both the Congress and the BJP lawmakers accused each other of disrespecting national symbols.
Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu must clearly understand that the country "is governed by laws passed by Parliament and the Constitution, not by the diktats of the Congress Working Committee. His statement regarding the singing of only two stanzas of Vande Mataram is highly condemnable and constitutes an insult to the country's freedom fighters".
Thakur recalled that in 1937 the Congress had stopped the singing of the full Vande Mataram to avoid displeasing the Muslim League.
The consequence was that along with the country Vande Mataram was also split in two.
"Now, after 75 years as Vande Mataram is being sung in its entirety once again and the song echoes from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Congress finds it intolerable. The manner in which Congress leaders have insulted Vande Mataram is unforgivable. Such conduct will no longer be tolerated. Strict action must be taken against anyone disrespecting the song. The Congress must respect symbols of national pride," he added.