The oath-taking ceremonies for new corporators in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday were marked by chaos and disruptions as the newly-elected Meerut mayor did not stand up while Vande Mataram was being recited and a Aligargh corporator took oath in Urdu.

Meerut and Aligarh are the only two out of 16 municipal corporations that were won by the Bahujan Samaj Party in the civic body elections in Uttar Pradesh in November. The rest were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Meerut

Corporators of the BJP protested when Meerut Mayor Sunita Verma, from the BSP, was seen sitting while Vande Mataram was being sung during the ceremony, ANI reported. Verma said the issue was “unnecessary” and alleged that “people started shouting Vande Mataram just to create trouble”.

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She said the BJP workers shouted slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”, “Jai Modi” and “Jai Yogi” even though it was not a political platform. BSP leaders retaliated by shouting “Jai Bheem” slogans, Verma said, according to The Indian Express.

“No one is stopping them from raising Vande Mataram, but they cannot force others to do it and that also in an abrupt manner,” she said. “Vande Mataram is recited neither in Parliament nor in Assembly...I will try to resolve the issue before the first session so that the focus would be on development.”

Aligarh

In Aligarh, a scuffle broke out between the BJP and BSP workers when Musharaff Husain, a BSP corporator, took oath in Urdu. Local BJP MLA Sanjeev Raja alleged that Husain was trying to create communal tension and that his act was against the Constitution. He also filed a police complaint against him.

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Aligarh District Magistrate Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod said a recording of the ceremony would be investigated. No religious slogans were raised, he told ANI.

Husain said he respects Hindi, but took oath in Urdu as he was more comfortable in it, The Times of India reported.