Thiruvananthapuram, August 16
Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday warned the UDF government of legal and political action for omitting Vande Mataram from the State’s official Independence Day celebrations.
Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Chandrasekhar accused the government of disregarding instructions issued by the Union government and violating provisions governing respect for national symbols. He alleged that the decision reflected the growing influence of the Indian Union Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami over the administration led by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.
“No one is permitted to decide which laws should be followed and which can be ignored,” he said.
Chandrasekhar questioned why Kerala had objected to the Centre’s direction when Congress-ruled Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh had reportedly complied with it. He said the BJP had previously cautioned the UDF against allowing organisations outside the government to influence administrative decisions.
The controversy followed a communication from the Union Ministry of Culture regarding the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, observed from August 9 to 17. A subsequent letter issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Biswanath Sinha said programmes organised during the campaign should combine the hoisting of the national flag with the collective singing of Vande Mataram.
The communication also directed officials to follow the Centre’s guidelines regarding the rendition of the national song. However, the Kerala General Administration Department’s circular on Independence Day celebrations did not include any instruction to sing it.
State officials described the disagreement as a technical issue, while ministers maintained that only the first two stanzas recognised by the Constituent Assembly would be rendered if the song was included in an official programme.
The General Education Department instructed schools to hoist the national flag and sing the national anthem at 9 a.m., but made no reference to Vande Mataram.
The song was also omitted from the State-level Independence Day ceremony attended by the Chief Minister at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
