Gandhinagar, September 10 (Daily Kiran) : Tushar Chaudhary, the leader of the Gujarat Congress legislative party, addressed the recent controversy surrounding Imran Khedawala’s behavior during the singing of ‘Vande Mataram‘ in the state assembly. On Thursday, Chaudhary stated that the party had not issued any official directive regarding Khedawala’s decision to remain seated during the anthem.
He characterized the incident as a result of a “misunderstanding” on Khedawala’s part. Chaudhary emphasized that Khedawala’s actions did not reflect the party’s stance, noting that no other Congress member remained seated during the event.
“There was no directive from the Congress party. If it had been a party position, all Congress legislators would have remained seated. But only Imran did,” he explained, asserting that the party fully respects the anthem.
Chaudhary added that Khedawala expressed regret over the incident and acknowledged his mistake. When questioned about Khedawala’s explanation, which suggested he stood during the traditional singing but sat down when additional verses were sung, Chaudhary speculated that Khedawala may have seated himself during those extra lines. He pointed out that traditionally only two verses have been sung since 1937.
“Since 1937, only these two verses have been sung. The government has now passed a law in Parliament that allows for the full song to be sung. Today, there are 182 members in the Gujarat Assembly. I can confidently say that more than half of them do not know the entire ‘Vande Mataram’. I myself do not know the complete song, and I admit that,” he remarked.
He suggested that several generations of legislators have grown up only hearing and singing the two verses, which could explain why some members might not be familiar with the additional lines. “They may have thought it was over and therefore sat down, or there could be other reasons. Only Imran can clarify what was on his mind,” Chaudhary added.
He reiterated that the Congress party did not instruct Khedawala to adopt such a stance. “The party did not issue any orders. There was no directive from the Congress party that Imran should behave in that manner,” he stated.
In response to government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani’s claim that Khedawala’s actions reflected the entire Congress party’s position, Chaudhary dismissed the assertion, clarifying that the party’s approach to singing ‘Vande Mataram’ at its events is quite clear.
“Our position is that at party conferences and events, we will sing only the verses that have been sung since 1937. This is our clear stance, specifically for Congress events, not for legislative bodies or government functions,” he concluded.
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