Lucknow, February 18 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that any disrespect towards "Vande Mataram" amounts to "national betrayal" and advised Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav to attend RSS shakhas to understand its traditions and discipline.
Responding to Yadav's remarks about the singing of "Vande Mataram" and references to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Adityanath said that Yadav should learn about the organization's functioning.
"If he starts attending RSS shakhas, he will learn to wake up early. It will be in his interest and may also help preserve the identity of the party he leads," the chief minister quipped.
He asserted that "Vande Mataram" has been a mantra of India's freedom struggle and was accorded the status of national song by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.
"Disrespect to the national song, the national anthem or the Tricolour is an insult to the makers of the Constitution, to Dr B R Ambedkar and to the revolutionaries who embraced the gallows chanting 'Vande Mataram'. Such acts amount to treason," he said.
Yadav, during a press conference on Monday, had suggested that Adityanath should ask his "sanghi-saathi" (associates of the sangh) if they sang "Vande Mataram" before and after Independence, in a veiled jibe at the RSS.
Adityanath was speaking at the "Viksit Bharat-Samriddh Uttar Pradesh" conclave organised by a private media house in Lucknow.
Targeting the Samajwadi Party, he said those who failed to bring change during their tenure were now attempting to obstruct development through "negative propaganda".
"Before 2017, Uttar Pradesh was marked by anarchy, corruption and nepotism. Since then, the state has witnessed transformation across sectors and today stands as one of the fastest-growing economies in the country," he said.
He claimed that over the past nine years, investment has increased, the state's image has improved and Uttar Pradesh has positioned itself strongly in emerging technological fields while reviving traditional enterprises and generating employment for youth.
On being asked about comparisons between Tipu Sultan and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Adityanath said Shivaji Maharaj is a national hero and cannot be equated with any invader who "attacked India's faith and spirit".
He said the Mughal Museum in Agra was renamed after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and announced that the state government would participate in grand celebrations of Shivaji's birth anniversary on February 19 in Agra.
Responding to another query about Akhilesh Yadav addressing him by his pre-monastic name and recent remarks related to religious matters including the Shankaracharya row, Adityanath said such statements reflected "opportunism" rather than genuine faith.
"They may defend one person (Swami Avimukteshwaranand) today, and someone else tomorrow. This is not about belief but political convenience," he said.
