New Delhi, Feb. 12 -- Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani on Thursday criticised the Union government's directive to play all six stanzas of Vande Mataram before the national anthem at official events, calling it a "blatant attack on freedom of religion".

He said it violates the constitutional rights of minorities.

This comes after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released detailed guidelines for the national song Vande Mataram, stating that when both the National Song and the National Anthem are performed at an event, all six stanzas of the official version of Vande Mataram must be presented first.

In a post on X, Madani wrote, "The Central Government's unilateral and coercive decision to make "Vande Matara...