The monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday began with a ruckus over the national song Vande Mataram, with BJP members raising the issue after the House finished singing the national anthem in the morning.
As soon as the national anthem concluded, BJP members demanded that Vande Mataram also be sung and remained adamant about their demand.
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said the Assembly proceedings had begun as per convention and asked the members to allow the House to take up obituary references. However, the BJP members did not relent and continued raising slogans in the House. Amid the shouting, the Speaker adjourned the House till Saturday.
Later, speaking to mediapersons, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the BJP was protesting for the sake of it, as the Opposition MLAs had to demonstrate their performance before the party high command.
He said there were several factions within the BJP and that its MLAs were trying to outdo one another by protesting against the government. He added that the Congress had a similar stand on Vande Mataram, as the party had taken a decision on the issue at the national level.
Senior BJP leader Vipin Singh Parmar said the latest amendment provided for the singing of Vande Mataram, and the BJP had raised the demand in accordance with the law.
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