All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday stuck to his stand that he will not chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
Taking on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Owaisi said there is nothing in the Indian Constitution which forces him to raise the slogan and prove his patriotism
"I stand by on what I have said and no one can force me to say anything. How it's a violation of law, if I don't say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', he told CNN-IBN.
"I follow the constitution of this country and it does not force me to say this. They (RSS) are trying to force their ideology and I'm ready to debate on this," he added.
His comments came against the backdrop of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion that the new generation needs to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India.
On Sunday, Owaisi said at a public rally in Maharashtra's Latur district, "I don't chant that slogan. What are you going to do, Bhagwat sahab?"
"I won't utter that (slogan) even if you put a knife to my throat. Nowhere in the Constitution, it is written that one should say Bharat Mata ki Jai", he said.
Bhagwat had made the statement at a recent meeting of the RSS top brass, the reference being to the alleged anti-India slogans raised at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus.
"Now the time has come when we have to tell the new generation to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' (hail mother India). It should be real, spontaneous and part of all-round development of the youth," the RSS chief had said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders lashed out at Owaisi calling his comments divisive.
"What is wrong in respecting the mother land? It is unfortunate to hear such words from a senior leader like Owaisi," said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli.
Another party leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi said, "It is not about nationalism. We are not forcing anyone. What is wrong in praising the country? They are trying to divide people."
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