MLAs of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) walked out of the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Monday (March 16) while Vande Mataram, the national song, was being played at the start of the House proceedings.
March 16 marked the first day of the Telangana Budget Assembly Session. As the national song was played at the beginning of the session, members of the Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stood in respect inside the House, while AIMIM legislators exited the Assembly.
Reacting to the walkout, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the move in a post on X. “Shameful that MIM MLAs chose to walk out of the Telangana Assembly while Vande Mataram was being sung. This isn’t just a protest; it is a direct insult to the national song and the spirit of our motherland. Why is MIM allergic to Indian symbols? Their true colours are out for everyone to see,” he wrote.
Shameful that MIM MLAs chose to walk out of the Telangana Assembly while Vande Mataram was being sung.
This isn't just a protest; it is a direct insult to the national song and the spirit of our motherland.
Why is MIM allergic to Indian symbols?
Their true colors are out for… pic.twitter.com/6zTZpNmQ9Y— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) March 16, 2026
The development came a day after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy attended an Iftar dinner organised by the Minorities Welfare Department at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on March 15, 2026.
The Ramzan Iftar event was attended by several political leaders and community representatives, including AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and MLAs.
The development comes in the backdrop of guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry, which has directed that a six-stanza, 3-minute-10-second version of Vande Mataram be played or sung at several official events. In a 10-page order dated January 28, the ministry also stated that when Vande Mataram and the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, are performed together, Vande Mataram must be played first, and the audience must stand at attention during the performance.
