After an incorrect rendition of the national song Vande Mataram was played at the Rajasthan BJP Office, state president Madan Rathore apologised at the party’s Independence Day function.
The BJP conducted its Independence Day programme at Badi Chaupar, where Rathore unfurled the national flag from the main stage.
After the flag-hoisting, the original version of Vande Mataram was scheduled to be played. However, Vande Mataram with a different music was played over the sound system. Jaipur MP Manju Sharma, MLA Balmukund Acharya and several other senior BJP leaders were present at the programme.
The organisers immediately tried to rectify the error, but the incident had already been recorded by those present and on cameras. Rathore later apologised for the mistake, attributing it to a technical and human error on the part of the team managing the programme. “It was a technical and human error on the part of the team managing the arrangements. I apologise for this,” Rathore told the media. He said the incident should not have happened.
In a first for Independence Day celebrations, ‘Vande Mataram’, with the full six stanzas, was rendered at the Red Fort complex, followed by the recitation of the national anthem at the grand event.
The mega function commemorates 150 years of the enduring legacy of the national song, ‘Vande Mataram’, as floral decoration on the ramparts depicted the national flag at the centre, flanked by ‘Vande Mataram’ in Hindi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort amid patriotic fervour and multi-layer security. “For everyone present at this ceremony today, this is also a historic moment. For the first time since independence, Vande Mataram is echoing from the Red Fort on August 15. And as we celebrate 150 years of Vande Mataram today, what could be a more wonderful occasion than this,” he said in his address. He added, “every heartbeat resonates with the chant of Vande Mataram”.