New Delhi: The row over the Government order for recitation of Vande Mataram in schools has brought the RSS and the BJP closer with both finding a common cause in the national song ahead of key elections in Uttar Pradesh.
In an editorial, Sangh mouthpiece Panchjanya described Vande Mataram as the soul of Indian nationalism.
"Every citizen, at every place, should sing Vande Mataram," it said while attacking Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh for declaring that the singing of the national song was optional for schoolchildren.
The BJP too has announced that Vande Mataram will be one of its key issues in Uttar Pradesh elections next year.
Over the weekend, BJP chief Rajnath Singh and his party colleague Vinay Katiyar echoed the same phraseology used in Panchjanya and another Sangh organ Organiser as they resolved not to allow national symbols to be "denigrated".
In line with the core RSS ideology, Singh told an election rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday that his party would make singing of the national song compulsory in the state if voted to power.
The BJP's ties with the RSS suffered one of their worst jolts last year over senior party leader L K Advani's comments on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
The party also drew RSS flak for not enabling construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, its key election issue, and for not abolishing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir while in power.
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