Dare BJP to suspend MPs for chanting Vande Mataram, says Uddha Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said that his party MPs will chant slogans on Friday, November 28, 2025 Vande Mataram He dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Parliament to suspend them.

The former Maharashtra Chief Minister made this statement four days after the Rajya Sabha Secretariat issued a notice reminding members to refrain from shouting slogans like ‘Thank You’, ‘Thank You’, ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Bande Mataram’ in the House, terming them as a violation of parliamentary etiquette.

The opposition Congress also attacked the BJP over the issue and accused the party, which leads the ruling alliances at the Center and Maharashtra, of practicing “fake nationalism”.

Addressing media persons in Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray said, “Our MPs will continue to recite Vande Mataram in Parliament. If the BJP has the guts, it should remove them. When we were with the BJP, we used to say: ” ‘Desh mein rehna hoga Vande Mataram kehna hoga? (Those who want to stay in India should sing Vande Mataram)’.” He went on to criticize the BJP for “nationalism and fake Hindutva drama”.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant also accused the BJP of “weaponizing the National Song to promote its polarization agenda” by targeting representatives of the minority community.

“Those who did not have the courage to say Vande Mataram during British rule have now banned it. This shows the hypocrisy and false nationalism of the BJP,” the Congress leader said in X.

‘Bad civil planning’

The former Prime Minister also criticized the BJP-led Mahayuti government for its decision to cut down trees in Nashik’s Tapovan area to make way for the construction of quarters to house saints for the Kumbh Mela in 2027.

Tapovan is believed to be the place where Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana spent some of their 14-year exile.

“No disturbance should be caused to the saints, but for this the government needs to be planned and transparent. Why hasn’t a Guardian Minister been appointed so far?” said Mr. Thackeray.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also took on the State government over increasing pollution in Mumbai and attributed it to deforestation of Aarey forests.

“During my tenure, we stopped the Aarey Metro car shed project. However, Aarey forests have been cut down and pollution is now increasing. Developments [supervised by the ruling Mahayuti] “It has zero planning and is only aimed at benefiting contractors,” he added.