Now it is the turn of Devendra Fadnavis, BJP Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He said at a BJP party rally that people who refused to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ had no place in India. The issue may be controversial but such an aggressive remark was not justified, especially coming from a Chief Minister. A day later Baba Ramdev said that those who refused to chant the slogan should be beheaded. That is an individual making a fanatical and irresponsible remark. But Fadnavis is the Chief Minister of a state and should not get away with the violation of the spirit of the Constitution which does not enjoin upon a citizen the chanting of a slogan. India is not regarded as a motherland or a fatherland and citizens have equal rights.
Last month the Maharashtra Assembly suspended an MLA for refusing to chant the slogan. The action resulted in the issuing of a fatwa by the Darul Ulooma Deoband. Deoband and Ramdev can cross swords on their idea of nationalism and patriotism but the controversy should not threaten the public order. Chief Ministers, ministers and legislators elected by the people should always abide by the spirit and letter of the Constitution. Such an explosion of fanaticism can affect the flow of global capital especially into a city like Mumbai which is the hub of cosmopolitanism and modernity in India. Whether or not Bharat Mata Ki Jai has a religious connotation is however open to debate. European countries also refer to motherlands and fatherlands. The injunction is not necessarily to be written in the Constitution and the fuss seems uncalled for.