Gandhinagar, Sep 10 (IANS) Gujarat Congress Legislative Party leader Tushar Chaudhary said on Thursday that Congress had no instruction or official position asking MLA Imran Khedawala to sit during the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ in the State Assembly, calling the incident a result of “some misunderstanding” on the part of the legislator.
Speaking to IANS, Chaudhary said the fact that no other Congress MLA sat during the rendition made it clear that Khedawala’s action was not the party’s position.
“There was no such stand of the Congress party. If it had been the party’s stand, all of us who are Congress MLAs would have sat down. But apart from Imran bhai, no one else sat. We gave full respect to the singing of Vande Mataram,” he added.
He said Khedawala had himself expressed regret over the incident and accepted that a mistake had occurred.
Chaudhary was also asked about Khedawala’s explanation that he had remained standing during the traditional rendition but sat down when additional lines were being sung.
He said the additional portion was the likely point at which Khedawala sat down, adding that traditionally only two stanzas had been sung since 1937.
“Since 1937, these two stanzas have been sung. The government has now passed a law in 2026 in Parliament providing for the singing of the complete song. Today, we have 182 MLAs in Gujarat Assembly, and I can say with confidence that more than half of them do not know the complete Vande Mataram. I myself do not know the complete song and I accept that,” Chaudhary added.
He noted that generations of legislators had grown up hearing and singing the same two stanzas, and therefore some members might not immediately be familiar with the additional portion.
“It is possible that Imran bhai thought it had ended and therefore sat down, or there may have been something else. Whatever happened, only Imran bhai can explain it. I cannot say what was in his mind,” he said.
Chaudhary reiterated that the Congress had not issued any direction for Khedawala to take such a position.
“The party (Congress) had given no order. There was no stand of the Congress party that Imran bhai should do this,” he said.
On Government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani’s allegation that Khedawala’s position represented the stand of the entire Congress, Chaudhary rejected the claim and said the party had a clearly defined position on the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ at its own programmes.
“Our party’s clear stand is that at our party conventions and programmes, we will sing those stanzas that have been sung since 1937. That is our clear stand,” the Congress Legislative Party leader said.
He added that this position applied specifically to Congress party programmes and not to the functioning of legislative bodies or government events.
“We will not do this in the state Assembly, Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, nor at any government programme. But at our party programmes, this is our stand,” he said.
The clarification comes a day after the ‘Vande Mataram’ row triggered a political confrontation in the Gujarat Assembly.
The government side has submitted a representation to Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary over Khedawala’s conduct, with the Speaker expected to consider the matter during the second day of the Monsoon session.
