Owaisi said religion and nation are not the same. He also claimed that Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay held views sympathetic to the British Raj and opposed Muslims.
The AIMIM chief further said leaders such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Rabindranath Tagore did not support giving Vande Mataram the same status as the national anthem.
Owaisi Cites Constitution in His Remarks
Owaisi also referred to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution in his statement. He said the Constitution begins with the words “We, the People” and not “Bharat Maa”.
He added that the Constitution guarantees liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship to all citizens. He also pointed to Article 1, which describes India as a “Union of States”.
According to Owaisi, some Constituent Assembly members had proposed references to a goddess and God in the Preamble. However, he said the Assembly rejected those amendments during debates on the Constitution.
The Hyderabad MP stated that India belongs to its people and not to any one god or goddess. His comments came amid political discussions over the reported Cabinet proposal linked to Vande Mataram.
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