Raj govt note ban anniversary plan: 50,000 people to sing national anthem

Rajasthan government, led by Vasundhara Raje, has decided to make more than 50,000 people sing the national song and the national anthem in Jaipur on November 8, The Times of India reported on Saturday. The event is a celebration of the first anniversary of the demonetisation movement.

The event will be organised in association with Rajasthan Youth Board, a body under the department of youth and sports and the RSS-backed Hindu Spiritual and Service Foundation.

Chief Minister Raje will be the chief guest at the event, which aims to ''evoke love for family, environment and nation''.

According to RYB vice-president Sandeep Yadav, "Such events are very important for the youth as it connects them with our culture and values. All youth wings under our organisation will participate in the event."

The two-hour long event will also include a yoga session led by Raje.

The opposition, led by Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan criticised the movement. He believed that the event was an attempt to cover up the failures of demonetisation. He said that the BJP was resorting to religion-based politics and hyper-nationalism to avoid answering questions about its governance.

The event will also clash with the Congress' decision of observing November 8 as a "black day". Read more

On October 31, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation made it mandatory for all staff members to sing the national anthem every morning and the national song, Vande Mataram in the evening. Read more
 

 

According to the Jaipur Mayor, Ashok Lahoti, this directive was issued to instil nationalism, create positive energy. He also said that anyone unwilling to sing the anthem could go to Pakistan.