BJP legislators sang the full version of Vande Mataram in the Karnataka Assembly and Legislative Council on Monday, September 21, after the official rendition in the Assembly ended after two stanzas.
This was in opposition to a Karnataka government order on September 8 directing that at state government programmes and official ceremonies, only first two stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung. The exception is programmes attended by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or Governor.
The assembly had convened for a three-day special to discuss the state’s drought situation and the implications of the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats.
After the singing of the Vande Mataram stopped following two stanzas, Speaker GS Patil allowed condolences for prominent personalities. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar then began paying tribute to former MLA RB Shiriyannavar, who died on August 27.
BJP MLAs objected to the truncated rendition and began reciting the remaining stanzas of Vande Mataram themselves. They also raised slogans against the Congress government over the decision.
A similar scene unfolded in the Legislative Council, where BJP members continued reciting the remaining stanzas while Chairman Saleem Ahmed began reading the Preamble to the Constitution.
The BJP had said ahead of the session that its legislators would recite the full version of Vande Mataram in the House in protest against the state government’s decision to restrict its rendition at official programmes.
The BJP had opposed the state government’s decision of deliberately limiting the national song. BJP MLA SR Vishwanath had said the party would oppose any truncated rendition in the Assembly and that its MLAs would sing the full song if it was stopped after two stanzas.
The issue has also led to protests outside the legislature. BJP MLA SN Channabasappa walked out of a Shivamogga district administration programme on September 15 after only the first two stanzas were sung. Officials told him the programme was being conducted according to the state government’s September 8 order.
The government order is also under challenge before the Karnataka High Court. Advocate Girish Bharadwaj has filed a Public Interest Litigation questioning the state government’s authority to prescribe that only two stanzas be sung at official functions.
The petition argues that the state order conflicts with a July 9 communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which said that the official version of Vande Mataram should be recited whenever the National Song is sung in mass gatherings. The petitioner has also argued that the subject does not fall under the State or Concurrent Lists of the Constitution and therefore comes under Parliament’s residuary legislative powers.