Bharitiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday sought apology from Home Minister P Chidambaram as it was not satisfied by his clarification that he was not aware of Deoband resolution against recitation of Vande Mataram .
The BJP, which condemned Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind’s resolution on Tuesday and attacked Mr. Chidambaram for being part of the function where it was adopted, took a dig at him, saying he ought to know such things in advance.
“I am surprised that the Home Minister of a country in which terrorism, separatism and naxalism are at their peak was not aware that he was going to attend a programme where our national song Vande Mataram was insulted,” BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
He said expressed “concern” over the fate of the country whose Home Minister had not been informed by intelligence agencies about the Vande Mataram resolution.
“The resolution was passed a day before Chidambaram attended the conference and the news had already appeared in newspapers and some news channels,” he said.
Mr. Naqvi, one of the few Muslim faces of BJP, sought an apology from Mr. Chidambaram for the development.
The BJP leader had on Tuesday criticised Chidambaram for attending the Deoband programme where Jamiat-e- Ulema Hind had passed the resolution against singing of the national song.
However, Mr. Chidambaram on Wednesday issued a clarification saying the resolution was not passed in his presence and he was not aware of any fatwa against Vande Mataram , women’s reservation and television.
