There is a heated debate between the Left and the BJP over the performance of the entire Bande Mataram song at the swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet in Kerala. The incident took place during the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress-led UDF government. Left parties have criticized singing of complete bande mataram as a wrong move. They said that it is not right for a multi-faceted society to perform all the verses of the song in government functions. Meanwhile, the BJP has lashed out at the Communist parties on the issue. The BJP alleged that the Left parties denigrated the national anthem only to play politics with particular religious vote banks and to appease extremist forces like Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI.
The CPI(M) initially objected to the move and later questioned the decision to sing the entire song. “If you look at history, you will find that some lines of the Vande Mataram song were dropped because they created a certain mood,” said CPI leader Vinay Biswas. Those lines did not fit with Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of a secular country. He said, Congress should not forget this history. However, distancing themselves from the controversy, sources in the new government said the event was entirely organized by the Raj Bhavan and the government had no role in it.
The CPIM State Secretariat explained its objection by saying that in 1937, the Congress Working Committee had decided that all parts of the Vande Mataram were not suitable for a pluralistic society. That’s why some parts of the song have been deleted. Later, in 1950, the Constituent Assembly also clarified that only the first eight lines of the approved version would be considered the national anthem. Left-wing groups believe that parts of the song represent religious beliefs and that using the entire song at official events hurts India’s secular heritage. They alleged that the new government had changed its earlier decision to include the omitted sections. The CPIM also said that even in BJP-ruled West Bengal, the entire song is not sung during the swearing-in ceremony, so it is an unusual occurrence in Kerala.
Responding to criticism from Left parties, Kerala BJP president and newly elected MLA from Nemam Center Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Left has distanced itself from India’s culture and traditions. He called Marxism an imported ideology which never understood Indian values. Chandrasekhar also alleged that the Left parties forced their workers to apologize for chanting Jai Hind slogans. He wrote on social media that disrespecting India for political survival is not secularism but dangerous politics of complacency. BJP says people of Kerala have rejected CPIM and this is their last desperate move.
