Abu Azmi Refuses to Sing Vande Mataram: Religious Controversy Over Maharashtra's School Directive

Samajwadi's Abu Azmi referred to BJP as "Bharat Jalao Party."

Mumbai:

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi has reinforced his position on refusing to sing 'Vande Mataram' due to its alleged religious implications. He has accused the BJP of generating discord among citizens.

Azmi, who represents Mumbai's Mankhurd-Shivajinagar assembly constituency, has also expressed opposition to mandating Vande Mataram in educational institutions, arguing that individuals from various faiths shouldn't be compelled to participate against their wishes.

The Maharashtra administration issued instructions requiring all schools to perform the complete version of Vande Mataram from October 31 to November 7 to commemorate the national song's 150th anniversary.

Bankimchandra Chatterji composed Vande Mataram on Akshaya Navami, November 7, 1875.

"No one can force me to sing Vande Mataram," declared the Samajwadi Party MLA.

"BJP is Bharat Jalao Party. It is a party that will destroy India. They play politics on religious lines, divide people and spread hate. They are always planning how to keep Muslims oppressed in order to stay in power. If you remove Muslim, Hindu, Pakistan, Bharat from the narrative, the BJP will become zero," Azmi stated.

"A Muslim only prays to Allah. But many Muslims perform worship of the land, like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. There are thousands who pray to the land. Some Muslims consume alcohol. Am I going to thrash them? Some don't offer namaz, so am I going to beat them up? We never objected to anything. But pious Muslims will never allow anyone to be on the same level as Allah," he explained to NDTV when questioned about politicizing a national song.

Currently, Maharashtra schools only sing the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram. The School Education Department's circular from October 27 mandates singing the complete version during the week-long celebration.

Responding to this directive, Azmi had argued that mandatory recitation was inappropriate due to varying religious beliefs. "Islam gives importance to respecting one's mother, but it does not permit prostrating before her," he had mentioned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Friday, also releasing a commemorative stamp and coin.