Budgam: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said he did not authorise the celebration of the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram” in schools, saying there should be no outside dictation on such matters and no interference in governing the Union Territory.
“This decision has not been made by the cabinet, nor has the education minister signed off on it. We should decide what happens in our schools without outside dictation on these matters,” Abdullah told reporters here in the central Kashmir district.
On October 30, the J&K’s Department of Culture had called for schools across Jammu and Kashmir to participate in the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of “Vande Mataram”.
This order faced strong backlash from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an alliance of several religious organisations in J&K, which demanded the immediate withdrawal of what they termed a “coercive order,” arguing that parts of the song contradicted Islamic beliefs regarding monotheism.
Abdullah was campaigning in the Budgam assembly segment on Friday as the elections for that seat are scheduled for November 11.
