RSS, BJP lock horns on Vande Mataram

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] appear to be taking different lines on the Vande Mataram issue.

The RSS is aggressive on the demand for making its singing compulsory in all schools, including madrassas, while the saffron party states that the issue relates to respect for the national symbol.

"Why not? It has to be made compulsory everywhere," RSS chief K S Sudarshan told reporters on Wednesday when asked whether the singing of the national song should be made compulsory in Islamic schools.

"One who does not consider mother India [ Images ] one's own mother cannot be the citizen of India," Sudarshan remarked.

"It is not the question of mandatory or compulsory. It is the question of respect for the national song, a national symbol," party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He also did not spell out what action a government could take in the event of non-compliance of its directives on the national song.