Meerut: Minority corporators refuse to sing 'Vande Mataram', Mayor asks to leave
Mayor of Meerut said that the members of Corporation who were present but not singing the national song won't get the attendance.
"The mayor ordered us to sing Vande mataram and threatended that he will not let us sit in the Sadan (House) if we do not follow his directive. It is up to us whether we will sing it or not. The orders were delivered rudely, so we decided to boycott the proceeding," Afzal Saifi, one of the members who refused to sing said.
However, the Mayor refused to accept such allegations and said that the decision to ask unwilling members to leave was a collective decision.
Meerut Mayor Harikant Ahluwalia told The Indian Express that "We have almost 90 corporators, of whom 18 are Muslims. Only a handful of people have an issue with Vande Mataram, rest sing it."
Mayor even stated that he would not allow this to happen again in the House.
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