Senior BJP leader and first-time legislator, V. Muraleedharan, on Friday led a sharp attack against the Kerala government after a row erupted in the Assembly over the rendition of Vande Mataram during Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s ceremonial reception.
Muraleedharan, a former Union Minister is one of the BJP’s three legislators in the newly-constituted 140-member Assembly.
He accused the government of insulting both Raj Bhavan and the national song by refusing to play the complete version of Vande Mataram despite reported directions from the Governor’s office and the Centre.
The controversy broke out on the first major working day of the 16th Kerala Assembly when the Kerala Police band rendered only the opening portion of Vande Mataram before the Governor’s maiden policy address.
Raj Bhavan had reportedly instructed during rehearsals that the full rendition of the national song be played at official events attended by the Governor.
However, the government headed by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan is understood to have retained the existing convention of playing only the first portion, triggering the first major face-off between the new UDF administration and Lok Bhavan.
Launching a political offensive, Muraleedharan took to his social media and alleged that the government had bowed before the ideological positions of the CPI(M) and Jamaat-e-Islami.
He claimed the move reflected acceptance of arguments that Vande Mataram was inconsistent with secular values.
The BJP leader also sought to put the Congress on the defensive historically, asking when the party had begun distancing itself from a song first sung during the 1896 Congress session and closely associated with India’s freedom struggle.
Despite the escalating political row, Governor Arlekar avoided any direct confrontation inside the House and began his address in Malayalam with a “Namaskaram,” making no mention of the controversy.
The dispute, however, overshadowed the UDF government’s maiden policy address, which contained several major announcements including a financial White Paper on Kerala’s economy, welfare expansion and infrastructure reforms.
With the BJP making its debut in the Kerala Assembly with three MLAs and Muraleedharan emerging as one of its most aggressive voices inside the House, Friday’s Vande Mataram controversy has quickly turned into the first major ideological battle confronting the Satheesan government.
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