New Delhi:
Shafiqur Rahman Barq, Samajwadi Party MP, on Tuesday triggered a controversy again by refusing to chant "Vande Mataram" in Parliament, as according to him, "it was against Islam". After taking the oath as a member of Lok Sabha, Barq said: "Jahan tak Vande Mataram ka taaluq hai, it is against Islam we cannot follow it." (As far as Vande Mataram is concerned, it is against Islam we cannot follow it).
Soon after that several MPs started chanting "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Shree Ram" in the Low House of the Parliament.
#WATCH: Slogans of Vande Mataram raised in Lok Sabha after Samajwadi Party's MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq says, "Jahan tak Vande Mataram ka taaluq hai, it is against Islam we cannot follow it" after concluding his oath. pic.twitter.com/8Sugg8u8ah
— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2019
Last month, the MP from Sambhal, Barq, sparked a controversy by saying that he would never utter Vande Mataram. Barq defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parmeshwar Lal Saini with a margin of about two lakh votes in the just-concluded elections.
In 2013 too, Barq, then a BSP MP, had generated heat by walking out of Lok Sabha while Vande Mataram was being played in the House. His conduct drew flak from all quarters. After his recent victory, when asked whether he would say Vande Mataram at the time of oath-taking, Barq reiterated his stand of not singing the national song.
Earlier in the day, Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM MP from Hyderabad, chanted "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind", after members from the ruling side shouted slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande mataram'.
Taking a dig, Congress President Rahul Gandhi asked BJP Arun Kumar Sagar, who chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' twice, to raise the slogan "one more time".
Gandhi again repeated "one more time" after the next BJP MP Ajay Kumar also raised the slogan of "Bharat Mata ki Jai".
Kumar than retorted that he will say the slogan again if Gandhi can complete it by chanting 'Jai' following which Gandhi said "Jai Hind" and was joined by other Congress members.
Earlier, when a DMK member hailed Periyar, Kaliangar, Gandhi and Ambedkar, the Chair said only the prescribed format should be taken on record.
However, some BJP members asked Revolutionary Socialist Party leader N K Premachandran as to why he was not objecting to raising of such slogans by opposition MPs like he did when the BJP members took oath and raised slogans on Monday.
To this, Premachandran said the Chair has already given direction in this regard. BJP MP Mathura Hema Malini concluded her oath with 'Rahey, Radhye' and a phrase from shloka in praise of Lord Krishna.
(With PTI inputs)
