Kerala Health Minister sits down as full Vande Mataram is sung at Kasaragod event

Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan showed his displeasure when the full Vande Mataram was sung at the opening of a laboratory at the Mulleria family health centre in Kasaragod district on 9 November, Asianet News reported.

The minister and some others on the stage sat down after the first two stanzas, while the song went on, the report said. Video of the event shows him talking to people near him.

Who sat and who stood

The District Collector, Rajmohan Unnithan, the Member of Parliament for Kasaragod, and Kallatra Mahin, an MLA, sat with the minister, according to Asianet News. Another MLA, K. Neelakandan, and the District Congress Committee president, P. K. Faisal, stood until the song ended.

The dispute

The Union government has directed that Vande Mataram, India’s national song, be sung in full at official events, the report said. The Congress has held that only the first two stanzas need be sung. Mr. Muraleedharan had earlier said that only the first two stanzas would be sung at Kerala government events.

The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the 19th century. Its first two stanzas are the part usually sung; some of the later stanzas describe the country as a Hindu goddess, which has long been a matter of political argument.

The minister did not comment on the record at the event, and no response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was reported.

What’s next

No written order from the State government on how much of the song should be sung at its events has been reported.