Rajasthan Congress Seva Dal courts controversy over alleged disrespect to national anthem

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Congress’s frontal organisation, Seva Dal, has been caught in a controversy over its members singing the national anthem while remaining seated in their chairs.
A video of the act got viral on the social media last weekend, with people accusing the Congressmen of insulting the national anthem by not standing up during the singing.
The place and date of the act recorded on a smartphone were still to be authenticated but the Seva Dal has issued a clarification saying that the party men were 'practicing' singing the national anthem and did not insult it.The recording was apparently done during one of the training camps of the Seva Dal organised across the state from July 27 to August 01.
“Practising patriotic songs, including the national anthem, national song and flag song, are part of Seva Dal’s training camps. During the training, we explain the rhythm, pronunciation and meaning of words being sung,” said Ramniwas Poonia, additional chief organiser of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Seva Dal. He added, “Seva Dal has been singing these songs with proper procedure and full respect since 1923. Please do not form any wrong opinion based on half-truth and half facts. For every Seva Dal member, the national flag and every symbol associated with the country’s honour are dearer than his/her life.”
The video is believed to have been recorded at a training camp at Khatu in Sikar district. “Every day from 10 am to 10:30 am, Seva Dal members were trained in singing patriotic songs at the camps organised across Rajasthan. The training was conducted to ensure that each one of our members learns to give full respect to these songs, including the national anthem,” Poonia told TOI. “Probably the people who uploaded the video on social media could not understand the training aspect of the singing,” he added.