Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

BJP celebrates centenary of Vande Mataram

Staff Reporter

Activists participate in group-rendering of the national song

VISAKHAPATNAM: The BJP on Thursday organised a meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi statue opposite municipal corporation office to mark the centenary of Vande Mataram, the national song. A large number of BJP workers, including women, gathered at the venue and participated in group rendering of the song after garlanding the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and the portrait of Bharatmata.

Party senior leader P.V. Chalapathi Rao described the song as an inspiration to people during the freedom struggle forging unity among them and instilling patriotic fervour. Problem arose with appeasement policies and vote bank politics gaining an upper hand, he said.

He urged the government to strongly counter the attempts of certain sections opposing the rendering of the song.

Inseparable

The centenary was being celebrated to refresh the memory of people and tell them about the greatness of the song.

RSS leader Pilla Rama Rao described Mother India and Vande Mataram as inseparable and said it should be rendered everyday by the people of the country.

BJP city vice-president Malla Venkata Rao presided. City general secretary S.V.S. Prakash Reddy, BJP Minority Cell city president Riaz Ahmed, party leaders T. Subbarami Reddy, P.V. Narayana Rao and K. Ratna Kumari were among the participants.

In a separate press release, Mr. Riaz Ahmed wanted religious leaders to refrain from opposing the rendering of the song.

At AU

Andhra University Vice-Chancellor L. Venugopal Reddy led the academic community and students by singing the song at the designated time, 11 a.m.

Thousands of students and staff rendered the song in all the departments. Registrar P. Vijay Prakash and principals - J.V. Prabhakara Rao, Allam Appa Rao, R. Venkata Rao, U.M. Swamy - and Director of Distance Education D. Harinarayana participated.

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