Bengaluru:Karnataka Legislative Council created the history when Vande Mataram was played on the opening day of the budget session on February 24. The new idea was initiated by Shri DH Shankaramurthy, Chairman of the Legislative Council.
“This is first time in the history of the state’s Upper House that the Session commenced with the playing of Vande Mataram on the opening day. I was thrilling as Vande Mataram was played inside the House,” visibly excited senior BJP leader Shri Ramachandra Gowda said. He is also the Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board.
When asked what prompted him to take this step, Shri Shankaramurthy said, “It (the practice) is in vogue in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. It is neither wrong nor unprecedented. Only that this is first of its kind in Karnataka that Vande Mataram was played in the House on the opening day. I am told that many state Legislatures too have this as practice.”
In his view, millions of people in India feel that Vande Mataram has not got its due respect. “The Constituent Assembly which debated on the issue of national anthem categorically ruled that while Jana Gana Mana would be the national anthem, Vande Mataram would be the national song, which would ‘enjoy equal rights and status’. I wanted to ensure that the rights and status of Vande Mataram-as ruled by the Constituent Assembly-are duly recognised,” Shri Shankaramurthy explained.
Hailing from Shimoga, Shri Shankaramurthy is a RSS swayamsevak since early 50s and has been the front ranking leader of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and later the BJP. He has also served as Minister of Higher Education in the BJP-JD (S) coalition government and later as Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board, before becoming the Chairman of the Legislative Council.
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