Vande Mataram Row Erupts After Kerala Cabinet Swearing-In
Left attacks full rendition of national song, BJP accuses CPIM of appeasement politics
- Full recital of Vande Mataram sparks political row in Kerala
- CPIM, CPI call move inappropriate in a pluralistic society
- BJP accuses Left parties of insulting national song
- Congress government distances itself from programme arrangements
GG News Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 20th May: A political controversy erupted in Kerala after the full rendition of the national song “Vande Mataram” was played during the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress-led UDF Cabinet headed by V. D. Satheesan, Chief Minister of Kerala.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India criticised the decision, calling it inappropriate in a pluralistic and secular society.
The CPIM state secretariat said the Congress Working Committee had, in 1937, opposed singing all portions of “Vande Mataram” because certain lines were considered incompatible with the secular vision of leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
The party also referred to a clarification made by the Constituent Assembly in 1950 stating that only the first eight lines of the approved version should be treated as the national song.
According to the CPIM, some portions of the song reflect specific religious beliefs and their inclusion in official state ceremonies goes against India’s plural traditions.
The party further claimed that even BJP-ruled states had avoided full renditions during official oath-taking ceremonies.
Binoy Viswam, senior CPI leader and Rajya Sabha MP, said the Congress should not have ignored the historical reasons behind limiting the officially accepted version of the song.
Sources in the new UDF government, however, distanced themselves from the controversy and said the programme arrangements were handled entirely by Lok Bhavan authorities.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party strongly criticised the Left parties over their objections.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP Kerala president and MLA-elect from Nemom, accused the Left of insulting the national song and pursuing appeasement politics.
He alleged that the CPIM was targeting “Vande Mataram” to appease radical vote-bank groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI.
Calling Marxism an “imported ideology”, Chandrasekhar said the Left parties had repeatedly distanced themselves from Indian cultural traditions.
In a post on social media platform X, he described the controversy as the “final desperate act” of a politically weakened CPIM in Kerala.
The row has triggered wider political debate in the state over nationalism, secularism and the use of national symbols during official government events.
