Haryana Health Minister questions word in National Anthem

Chandigarh, Aug 17: Haryana’s outspoken Health Minister Anil Vij on Monday questioned a word in India’s National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’.

“Rashtriya gaan Jana Gana Mana ka hum poora samman karte hain parantu isme kis adhinayak ki aradhana ki jaati hai veh mujhe aajtak samajh nahin aaya (We fully respect the national anthem but in this which ruler [Adhinayak] is worshipped, I have not been able to understand till today),” Vij tweeted on Monday.

The tweet from Vij came just two days after he unfurled the national flag as a minister for the 69th Independence Day celebrations in Yamunanagar town.

Vij is a senior minister in the first BJP government in Haryana.

He holds charge of the health and sports departments. He is the most active of all Haryana ministers and quite popular with his action-oriented style of functioning.

The minister is well-known for his no-holds-barred comments on Twitter and otherwise.

In the last few months, ever since the BJP came to power in Haryana in October 2014, Vij has even left his own government and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar embarrassed with his comments.

Vij took the Twitter route last month to express his displeasure over the Khattar government bypassing him and appointing actress Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador for a campaign.

The minister’s surprise raids at government hospitals and clinics in recent months have put the health department on its toes. He has raided other offices, including police stations too.

A veteran and well-known BJP leader who represents the Ambala assembly seat, Vij was one of the top contenders for the chief minister’s post in October last year when the BJP came to power on its own in Haryana for the first time ever. (IANS)