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Advani against 'mandatory' singing of Vande Matram

Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani today said he was opposed to the ''mandatory'' imposition of the singing of Vande Mataram.

When asked to comment over the move of the Kalyan Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh to make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsary in the government-run schools, the home minister said he would ascertain the factual position as there were conflicting reports on it.

Advani stated that it should not be 'mandatory' and that the people should be allowed to accept it on their own.

The UP government's reported decision to make the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory had attracted sharp criticism from none other than the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The board president Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, popularly known as Ali Mian, had asked Muslims to withdraw their children from the schools where the rendering of Vande Mataram has been made compulsory as that song is not true to the spirit of Islam.

UNI

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