NEW DELHI — A political row erupted in Kerala after only the opening portion of Vande Mataram was played before the Governor’s policy address in the Assembly. While the Janata Party (BJP), on Saturday, called the incident “shameful” Opposition maintained that singing the full song cannot be enforced upon citizens.
Kerala chief minister V.D. Satheesan on Friday said that rendering the national song in full was not mandatory as Parliament had enacted no law in that regard. Satheesan was responding to reporters’ queries on governor’s concern.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday had publicly confirmed that Lok Bhavan had insisted on the full rendition of Vande Mataram during the opening session of the Assembly. He, however, expressed displeasure at the police band not performing the full version of Vande Mataram at the opening session of the Assembly where he was present for the UDF government’s policy address.
Arlekar did not raise the issue in the Assembly but later told the media at Lok Bhavan that protocol should be followed when the governor attends such events.
Senior CPI leader Binoy Viswam asserted that the song is not India’s national anthem and that only its first two stanzas have traditionally been considered for public recitation.
The remarks came as the debate intensified between the Kerala government and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar over the manner in which Vande Mataram was played during Assembly proceedings.
Binoy Viswam said Vande Mataram holds an important place in India’s history but cannot be equated with the national anthem.
According to him, while Vande Mataram is recognised as the national song, it has never officially been treated as the national anthem in independent India.
Viswam argued that there had historically been an understanding that only the first two stanzas could be recited on certain occasions if organisers chose to do so, and even that was optional rather than compulsory.
He further contended that the later stanzas contain references to Hindu deities and therefore have been the subject of debate since the pre-Independence era.
The CPI leader also noted that objections to the complete rendition of the song had been raised by sections of the freedom movement before Independence.
Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan appreciated the UDF government’s stand on Vande Mataram. However, the BJP slammed the Congress-led government for allegedly insulting Vande Mataram and the governor.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that it was done under pressure from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a UDF ally. — With inpurs from agencies
