Wednesday, August 23 2006 10:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The BJP yesterday (Aug 22, 2006) stepped up its attack on Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh over the Vande Mataram issue, saying it was considering legal action against him for 'insulting' the national song by declaring there was no compulsion on anybody to sing it on September 7.

"His statement that there was no compulsion on anybody to sing the national song is a crime. He should be booked for insulting the national song. We are considering legal action against him," BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters.

He did not explain the charges that his party leaders would want the HRD Minister to be booked under.

The BJP has also accused Singh of surrender to anti-national forces for his remarks that schoolchildren would not be forced to sing Vande Mataram on September 7 to mark the centenary of its adoption following refusal by some Muslim clerics to abide by a Central directive on the national song.

"The issue also figured at the BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," Malhotra said.

"At the meeting, senior BJP leader L K Advani expressed satisfaction with the party over a range of issues it raised in Parliament during the current session," he added.

Malhotra also expressed disappointment with the NCERT over its response to concerns raised in Parliament about certain portions in its textbooks.

"The NCERT is guilty of contempt of Parliament as it has not addressed MPs' concerns," he remarked.

Also, the BJP leader said his party would hold nationwide campaign against price hike soon.