Kerala’s LOP Pinarayi Vijayan

New Delhi: Leader of opposition and former Chief Minister in Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan It rained heavily on the Center and BJP Amidst the ongoing controversy over the presentation ofVande Mataram‘In Kerala Assembly. He alleged that singing the full version of the national anthem was ‘part of the RSS agenda’.Vijayan said there is no need to stand up when the entire version of ‘Vande Mataram’ is sung or only the first two verses are sung.“It was already made clear that there is no need to sing Vande Mataram in its entirety. There are no other constraints on this issue. In fact, there is no need to stand when only the first two verses of Vande Mataram are sung. Singing the full version of Vande Mataram is part of the agenda of the RSS. The entire song was presented during the swearing-in ceremony, which should not have happened. After that experience, it seems the government has taken a tough decision. This is the approach that should be adopted,” he said.His comments came after the BJP accused the Kerala Assembly of disrespecting the national anthem by not presenting the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’ during Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s policy address last Friday.Before and after the Governor’s address, a band team played only the opening verses of the national anthem.Senior BJP leader and Kazhakkoottam MLA V Muraleedharan alleged that there was a Central government directive to require full rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ at events attended by the Governor, but claimed that the Kerala Assembly did not follow it.“This is an insult to Lok Bhavan and the Honorable Governor. The national anthem, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, has also been disrespected, the former Union minister said in a Facebook post.Muraleedharan further accused the VD Satheesan-led UDF government of bowing before ‘Jamaat-e-Islami and CPI(M).’“It is clear from this that the government is accepting their argument that the national anthem is not in line with secularism,” he alleged.The BJP leader also questioned the Congress party’s stand on ‘Vande Mataram’ and said the song was first sung at the Congress national conference in 1896.“We register our protest strongly,” he said.Earlier, during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly formed UDF cabinet led by Chief Minister VD Satheesan, ‘Vande Mataram’ was sung in full. CPI(M) and other left parties objected to the entire rendition and argued that parts of the song were not appropriate in a secular and pluralistic society.In a statement earlier this week, the CPM state secretariat said the decision to present the full version goes against the earlier stance adopted by the Congress Working Committee in 1937, which had recommended deletion of parts of the song.The party also cited the Constituent Assembly discussions in 1950 and claimed that only the first eight lines of ‘Vande Mataram’ were accepted for official use as the national song.According to the CPM, parts of the songs reflect specific religious beliefs and their inclusion in official state ceremonies is not in line with India’s secular traditions.The party further alleged that clauses previously excluded from official use were included during the swearing-in ceremony.The CPM also pointed out that even in BJP-ruled states, including West Bengal, traditional full presentations were not given during the swearing-in ceremony.Amid the controversy, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar strongly criticized the Left parties and accused them of disrespecting the national anthem and indulging in appeasement politics.“In an attempt to hide the embarrassment of being completely rejected by the people, the CPI(M) has now come forward to question Vande Mataram,” he said.Chandrasekhar said, “Insulting the nation for mere political survival can never be called secularism. A developed Kerala requires unity, harmony and a secure society.”Meanwhile, according to PTI, the newly formed Kerala government clarified that the state administration had no role in deciding the schedule of the swearing-in ceremony and said the event was entirely organized by Lok Bhavan.