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Amid the debate over the full version of Vande Mataram, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that while his party has never adopted the national song and will not do so in the future, it will comply with the legal requirement to perform it at government functions.
Speaking on the issue, Abdullah said the provision applies to government functions nationwide, and that failure to comply would result in action. A law has been enacted regarding the national song. All verses of Vande Mataram have become mandatory. This applies not just to Jammu and Kashmir, but to the entire country; this is the protocol for government functions nationwide. Failure to comply will result in action, Abdullah said. He said the national anthem and the national song would also be performed at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival. The national anthem and the national song will be performed at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival as well, he said. As a party, we have never adopted Vande Mataram, nor will we do so in the future, but we must comply with legal obligations, the J-K Chief Minister said. This comes after Congress MP KC Venugopal on September 8 said the full version of Vande Mataram sits uneasily with the syncretic and pluralist ethos envisioned by India's freedom fighters, and urged the party's allies to respect the version of the national song adopted by the Congress in 1937. This was on the same day as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah stood through the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the inaugural International Film Festival in Srinagar. The Abdullahs stood through all six stanzas of the song, highlighting differences within the INDIA bloc over the issue. (ANI)
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