Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday contended that he was not present when the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind adopted a resolution at its 30th general session in Deoband on Tuesday, asking Muslims not to recite Vande Mataram.
"Home Minister P Chidambaram was at the JUH conference at Deoband on November 3 between 10 am and 12 noon. No resolution was passed during that period. When he spoke, he was not aware of any resolution relating to Vande Mataram or women's reservation and television," a statement issued by his aide said.
Besides, the home minister was reading from a prepared text and there was no occasion to depart from that text, the statement said, reacting to a statement of BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Through its resolution, Jamiat has asked members of the community not to recite 'Vande Mataram' on the grounds that some verses of the national song are against the tenets of Islam.
The Jamiat's opposition to the recitation of the song came when it supported seminary Darul Uloom's 'fatwa' (edict) which opposes any prayer involving the song.
Naqvi had yesterday said the presence of Chidambaram at the programme "gave legitimacy to the resolution...it is a matter of concern."
