Gorakhpur (UP)- Amid an ongoing controversy over the national song, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said singing“Vande Mataram” will be made compulsory in every school and educational institution of the state.

Addressing an 'Ekta Yatra' (Unity March) event in Gorakhpur, he said this step would inspire feelings of reverence and pride among citizens towards“Bharat Mata” and the motherland.

“There should be a sense of respect for the national song Vande Mataram. We will make its singing compulsory in every school and educational institution of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

A political row over the national song erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that dropping key stanzas of the song in 1937 had“sown the seeds of Partition” and such a“divisive mindset” remained a challenge for the country, remarks seen as an attack on the Congress.

The BJP also accused the Congress of pandering to a“communal agenda” under Jawaharlal Nehru's leadership by adopting a truncated version of the song that year.

The Congress hit back sharply, alleging that Modi had“insulted” the 1937 Congress Working Committee and Rabindranath Tagore, who had suggested adopting only the first two stanzas.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister's comments were“shocking but not surprising”, adding that the“RSS had no role in the freedom movement”. The Congress demanded an apology, calling it“shameful” to accuse Tagore of divisiveness.

Penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875,“Vande Mataram” was officially adopted as India's national song by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.

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