Meerut held its first board Meeting after BJP Government took over in Uttar Pradesh. During that meeting, Mayor Harikant Ahluwalia declared that each and every member of the Nagar Nigam Board will have to sing the National Song (Vande Mataram) and if they refuse to do so they will be barred from entering any board meetings or proceedings.

This statement caused unrest among a few Muslim board members who protested against Mayor’s request saying that the Supreme Court had said that singing the national song is not mandatory.

According to a TOI report, during the meeting when a few Muslim members began to leave the room, few BJP members started yelling ‘Hindustan me rehna hai to vande mataram kehna hai’.

After all this ruckus Mayor called for a ‘vote by voice’ resolution to collect votes in favour of singing vande mataram before all meetings.

The resolution still needs the government’s approval for implementation.