Himachal Assembly Adjourned Within 10 Minutes Over Vande Mataram Row

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly's Monsoon Session began amid a major uproar over the singing of the national song, Vande Mataram, with the House being adjourned within 10 minutes of the proceedings.

The session began with the national anthem, following which the Opposition BJP demanded that Vande Mataram also be sung at the start of the session.

Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania cited the rules and said the national song is sung at the conclusion of the session. The BJP refused to accept the explanation and raised slogans inside the House, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings until 11 am on Saturday.

The confrontation continued outside the Assembly, with both the Congress and the BJP MLAs accusing each other of disrespecting national symbols.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the BJP of insulting the national anthem and said the Congress respects both the national anthem and the national song. 

Sukhu said the established practice is to sing the national anthem at the beginning of a session and the national song at its conclusion. He accused the BJP of raising the issue for political gains and alleged that the Opposition was not respecting the traditions of the Assembly.

Sukhu also said neither the government nor the Speaker had refused to allow the national song to be sung in full. He alleged that the BJP appeared divided in the absence of Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur and claimed that the ruckus was an attempt to sideline him. 

Sukhu further said the disruption was disrespectful to the departed souls for whom the House was observing mourning.

BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar, however, accused the Congress of disrespecting Vande Mataram. Parmar said the BJP had made a humble request to sing the national song at the beginning of the session, but permission was denied.

He alleged that the Congress was not serious about respecting the national song and was politicising the issue.

Parmar also referred to the Congress Working Committee's reported decision to sing only two stanzas of Vande Mataram, alleging that this was against the law passed by Parliament and amounted to an insult to freedom fighters.

He said the Himachal Assembly would not function according to rules decided by the Congress Working Committee.

Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania defended the decision, saying that several legislatures, including Parliament, follow the practice of beginning the proceedings with the national anthem and concluding them with the national song. 

He said the Opposition started creating a ruckus as soon as the proceedings began, leaving the House with no option but to adjourn.

Pathania maintained that the Himachal Assembly would function according to its rules and not according to what he termed the Opposition's "dictatorship". He also accused the BJP of appearing leaderless in the House on the opening day of the Monsoon Session.

With inputs from VD Sharma in Shimla