BJP criticises Kerala Govt for skipping Vande Mataram, says violation of constitution

NEW DELHI: The government skipping Vande Mataram from the official Independence Day celebrations, has stoked a controversy in Kerala. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that the direction of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was implemented in Kerala.

The people of the country would take action against the Congress leaders. He also alleged that Kerala’s opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan also opposed Vande Mataram. The same attitude is visible within the Congress. He accused them of having naxalism in their minds.

BJP leader Shone George alleged that the omission of Vande Mataram was a deliberate surrender by Chief Minister V D Satheesan to extremist groups. ‘We were firmly convinced about this because this is nothing new. For the past year, the chief minister has had open and secret unholy links with Jamaat-e-Islami and anti-India forces,’ George alleged.

He said he had expected Vande Mataram to be sung, but criticised the chief minister for not even showing the courtesy of including it in the programme. Meantime, George said he was unaware of an order issued by the state general education department not making the singing of the national song mandatory. He warned that if any official had issued such an order, strict action would be taken against him.

George further alleged that the state government was deliberately trying to communalise Vande Mataram in order to appease Muslims. BJP leader P K Krishnadas said the incident undermined the spirit of Independence Day and amounted to insulting freedom fighters such as V D Savarkar. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also described the Kerala government’s action as unacceptable.

The BJP’s main allegation is that the UDF government has yielded to pressure from extremist organisations. The party said the decision amounted to a violation of the Constitution and that it would challenge the government’s decision both legally and politically.

Congress-ruled Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh had reportedly followed the Centre’s directive in full and sung the song in its entirety at the Independence Day celebrations held on Saturday. In Kerala, however, at an official function attended by Chief Minister V D Satheesan, not even a single line of Vande Mataram was sung.