General
MANGALURU: Former minister B Ramanath Rai said that the state govt should take appropriate legal action against BJP MP and former Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri for making controversial remarks on the National Anthem.Rai told reporters on Monday that the Uttar Kannada MP claimed in a public statement that the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was written to “welcome the British.” “This statement of the MP is deeply misleading and disrespectful. The govt needs to act against the MP under the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Offences in violation of the act attract punishments, including imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both,” said Rai.The MP should remember that the poem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was composed by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 and was first sung at the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta the same year. The song was later officially adopted as India’s National Anthem in 1950, he said, and asserted the claims of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as a poem to praise the British are baseless.He accused Kageri of making efforts to distort history and insult the spirit of the Indian freedom movement by making such baseless remarks.
“Respecting the National Anthem is a fundamental duty of every citizen of India. The national song ‘Vande Mataram’ and the National Anthem hold immense emotional significance for every Indian,” Rai said and urged political leaders not to make irresponsible remarks against national sentiments.