Thiruvananthapuram | The BJP on Tuesday alleged that the national song 'Vande Mataram' was not sung in full in the Kerala Assembly when the Governor attended the policy address on Friday, saying this amounted to an "insult" to Lok Bhavan.
Before and after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar's policy address in the Kerala Assembly, a band team performed the opening stanzas of Vande Mataram.
Senior party leader and Kazhakkoottam MLA V Muraleedharan said that, at events attended by the Governor, there is a central government directive that the national song Vande Mataram should be sung in full, but this was not followed in the Kerala Assembly.
"This is an insult to Lok Bhavan and the Honourable Governor. The national song, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, has also been disrespected," the former Union minister said in a Facebook post.
He alleged that the UDF government headed by V D Satheesan did this while "yielding to Jamaat-e-Islami and the CPI(M)".
"Through this, it is evident that the government is accepting their argument that the national song is not in line with secularism," the BJP leader said.
He said Satheesan should clarify since when the Congress has begun distancing itself from Vande Mataram, which was first sung at the 1896 Congress national conference.
"We strongly register our protest," Muraleedharan said.
Earlier, the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the swearing-in ceremony of UDF Cabinet triggered a political controversy.
The Left parties (CPI and CPI(M)) objected to the performance, describing the complete recital as inappropriate in a secular and pluralistic society.
