Those who refuse to say Vande Mataram have no right to live in India: BJP minister

New Delhi: “Seeking proof for the Balakot air strikes is akin to asking one’s mother for a DNA test.”

“Those who refuse to say Vande Mataram have no right to live in India”.

“The opposition is the villain that helps PM Narendra Modi emerge as a hero.”

Union Minister of State Pratap Sarangi tore into the opposition as he made his maiden speech in Parliament Monday, evoking excited desk thumps from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) colleagues as he drew a Ramayan analogy in praise of PM Modi.

In a multi-lingual speech delivered in Hindi, Sanskrit, Odiya, Bengali as well as English, peppered with shlokas, Sarangi said the country will not tolerate the “tukde-tukde gang”.

“’Pakistan zindabad‘, ‘Afzal Guru zindabad‘, ‘hum sharminda hai Afzal tera qatil zinda hai‘. Ye kehne waalo ko desh mai rehne ka adhikar hai (Do people who praise Pakistan and Afzal Guru have the right to live in India)?” he said.

“Kaun inko support karta hai, introspect karo. Jinko humara priya pawan bhoomi se pyaar nahi, jinko Bharat ki azaadi aur akhandata sweekar nahi, jinko Bharat ki ‘vande mataram’ sweekar nahi, kya unko Bharat mai rehne ka adhikar hai (Who supports them, introspect. Those who don’t love our beloved land, those who can’t accept India’s freedom, those who can’t accept Vande Mataram, do they have any right to live in India)?” he added.

“Nahi, bilkul nahi (No, not at all),” the treasury benches replied.

Sarangi’s comments come days after Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq refused to say ‘Vande Mataram‘ during his oath-taking ceremony last week, arguing that it was “against Islam” (Muslims are against deifying the nation, with Islam identifying just one God).

His statement was followed by chants of “Vande Mataram” and “Jai Shri Ram” from other MPs.