“The Congress should have stopped it (controversial stanzas of Vande Mataram) in Parliament. Even in Congress-ruled States, the national song is played at official functions. All stanzas of the national song are mandatory now. Those who do not stand will face legal action. What does the Congress want? that people go to jail in Kashmir over this?”said Mr. Abdullah.
Mr. Abdullah’s remarks came after senior Congress leaders, including party general secretary K.C. Venugopal, questioned the Chief Minister and his National Conference (NC) party leaders who stood for all stanzas of the song during its rendition at a ceremony of International Film Festival Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK) on September 7 in Srinagar.
Mr. Abdullah said he wished the Congress to come to power in the Centre and “change the national song in Parliament”. “Let the Congress bring the change in Parliament. As a party, we never adopted Vande Mataram. However, we will abide by legal and statutory obligation,” he said.
‘Tanvir’s reference a documented reality’
The Chief Minister also defended the remarks of party legislator Tanvir Sadiq, who suggested that economic distress in Kashmir had “people sharing pyjamas” at one point of time, until NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah brought economic reforms in J&K. The remarks drew criticism from political parties, including the BJP.“Mr. Sadiq has referred to a well-documented historical reality. Walter Lawrence and other accounts record the widespread poverty faced by Kashmiris under the Zaildar, Chakdar and landlord system. This is history, not Tanvir’s personal opinion. His point was to underline how far our people have come since then. There is no basis for an apology; the issue has simply been blown out of proportion,” said Mr. Abdullah.
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reacted sharply to Mr. Abdullah’s remarks. Party leader and ex-minister Naeem Akhtar termed the NC stand on Vande Mataram as “unfortunate”.
“There is an obvious communal agenda in it. Unfortunately, the NC has adopted and accepted it. It’s the Congress and Rahul Gandhi who are raising the right issues in the country, whether it was the issue of Waqf, Vande Mataram or Muslims facing demolition of mosques or shrines in the country,” said Mr. Akhtar.
On the NC defending the pyjama remarks, Mr. Akhtar said the the party “lacks modern idiom” and “still lives in the stories of 1931”. “The NC is not revising its communication skills to meet the needs of the times. Instead, stories from the past are re-told. Unfortunately, the 5,000-year-old civilisation of Kashmir is boxed in by trivial issues,” he said.
Mr. Akhtar also accused the NC of “betraying those who sacrifice and vote for the party”. “Traditionally, the party has treated its followers like cattle. It enjoys berating its own people. They [party leaders] consider its supporters as slaves of the party,” the PDP leader said.