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BJP, Congress face off over 'Vande Mataram', Shivraj Chouhan to sing national song at MP Secretariat with 109 BJP MLAs

Taking to Twitter Chauhan mentioned that Vande Mataram will be sung before the beginning of the Assembly session in the courtyard of Vallabh Bhavan at 10 am.

Bhopal: After 'Vande Mataram' was not sung at Madhya Pradesh secretariat, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that all 109 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs will recite the song at the Secretariat on January 7, 2019, Monday.

Taking to Twitter Chauhan mentioned that the national song will be sung before the Assembly session starts on January 7, in the courtyard of Vallabh Bhavan at 10 am.

"I @ BJP4MP all legislators will sing Vande Mataram on the first day of January 7, 2019, Assembly session in the courtyard of 10:00 pm Vallabh Bhavan. All of you are welcome to join this campaign," he tweeted.

Singing of the national song in the Mantralaya or secretariat on the first working day of every month has been the norm since the time of erstwhile Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of the BJP.

However, the newly formed Congress government led by Chief Minister Kamal Nath chose to not sing the national song on the first day of January. This triggered a massive debate between the two parties, with BJP workers holding a protest outside the Secretariat against the Chief Minister.

Speaking on the incident, Kamal Nath said that the order "has been put on hold". He added that a decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form. He also asked if those who don't recite the Vande Mataram are not patriots.

"The order to recite Vande Mataram in the Secretariat on the first day of the month has been put on hold. A decision has been taken to implement the order in a new form. Those who do not recite Vande Mataram are not patriots?" said the CM.