Now Reading: Vijayan demands Kerala scrap full Vande Mataram order
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Vijayan demands Kerala scrap full Vande Mataram order
Kerala Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday demanded the state government withdraw an order mandating the full version of Vande Mataram be sung during Independence Day celebrations, saying it reflects a surrender…
The Story in Brief
Kerala Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday demanded the state government withdraw an order mandating the full version of Vande Mataram be sung during Independence Day celebrations, saying it reflects a surrender to the RSS agenda. Speaking in Kannur, he argued that only the opening stanzas align with secular principles, as the Constituent Assembly had decided. CPI(M) leader P Rajeev separately criticised the UDF government for accepting the directive from the Union Culture Ministry without protest.
The row follows a letter from Kerala Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha on August 6, integrating the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign with the 150th year of Vande Mataram. The order says Government of India instructions on the recitation will be followed in full. Vijayan pointed to the full rendition at the UDF cabinet swearing-in as evidence of a shift away from the Congress's earlier stated position.
The Indian Opinion
The row over singing the full Vande Mataram pits secular symbolism against national pride, but both sides are stretching facts. Vijayan invokes the Constituent Assembly as if it banned the full song, it did not; it merely adopted the first two stanzas as the national song. The UDF government, for its part, accepted a Union directive without visible debate. Whether this is a surrender to an RSS agenda or a routine administrative follow-through will be tested when the Congress and IUML clarify their own stated positions. The real question is: will either side produce the Assembly’s actual record to settle what was truly decided?
Sources (2): telanganatoday.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
