In a strange diktat of sorts, the Maharashtra Government on Sunday made it mandatory for all employees working in Government and semi-Government institutions to greet people with “Vande Mataram” instead of saying “hello” while receiving telephone or mobile phone calls from citizens or Government officials. The Government Resolution (GR) issued by the General Administration department stated that the implementation of the mandate for the Government employees would start on October 2, the birth anniversary of the Maharashtra Government as part of the Amrit Mahotsav.
Among other things, the GR stated that officials should also create awareness among the people who come to meet them and use “Vande Mataram” as a greeting. “The word ‘hello’ is an imitation of the Western culture and just a “greeting without any specific meaning and does not evoke any affection,” the resolution read. The decision has invoked interesting reactions from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
The NCP termed the “decision” as an “infringement on the Right to Freedom of Speech and also imposition of a particular mindset. “Vande Mataram invokes a sense of pride and a feeling of patriotism. Forcing Indians to say it is not right, especially when they are asking their staff to say Vande Mataram even when they use their private telephones,” NCP’s national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said.
"This is nothing but infringement of their Right to Freedom of Speech and also the imposition of a particular mindset on the people. Let them say Vande Mataram with pride, don't force them to say so," Castro added.
The Congress has said it will greet people with "Jai Baliraja" and "Ram Ram" to express its gratitude to farmers. State Congress president Nana Patole, however, added that the party was not opposed to the Vande Mataram greeting. "......Our country is an agrarian economy where the agriculture sector plays a major role. It is our stand that we will say "Jai Baliraja" (hail the farmer) and "Ram Ram" while greeting people to express gratitude for farmers," Patole told reporters when asked about the Maha Govt direction on "Vande Mataram" to the Government employees and officers.
Dubbing "Hello" as a "meaningless word", the circular stated if the State Government employees - during the conversations on the phone-- were to begin with Vande Mataram, then it would help create a conducive atmosphere and give positive energy.
Senior Maharashtra Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had last month mooted the mooted idea of Government employees greeting those interacting with them over the phone or in person with "Vande Mataram".
However, he later backtracked and said that any equivalent word reflecting nationalism can be used.
After reneging on his statement, Mungantiwar later told a television channel that, "Greeting people by way of Vande Mataram is not mandatory.