Barq to protest against singing of Vande Mataram in Parl

Sambhal (UP): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq has said he would remain absent from Parliament on Monday to protest against singing of the national song `Vande Mataram`.

"I will remain absent from Parliament tomorrow to boycott Vande Mataram", he told reporters on Saturday. "In 1997 too, I had boycotted Vande Mataram during golden jubilee celebrations of Parliament", he said, claiming that his party was with him. On the issue of suspension of woman IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, Barq said that Muslims were being used as a shield by the state government to justify its act. "Suspension of the officer is wrong and the state government should not make Muslims as its shield to justify its wrong act. The community has nothing to do with the suspension", he added. PTI