Kerala's Chief Minister Satheesan Turns Vande Mataram Controversy into Political Advantage

Chief Minister V D Satheesan appears to have turned the Vande Mataram controversy to his political advantage, with Keralam choosing not to render the national song during the Independence Day celebrations, even as the Congress national leadership and governments in other Congress-ruled states went ahead with it. The decision could help Satheesan shore up his secular credentials at a time when the opposition LDF has accused him of moving closer to the BJP on issues of nationalism and secularism. The contrast became sharper as at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Vande Mataram was rendered in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, despite the party leadership’s earlier decision that the controversial stanzas should not be recited. The full version of the national song was also rendered at the Independence Day programmes in Congress-ruled Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. Keralam, however, stopped short of doing so. At the Congress state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the first two stanzas were sung in line with the party’s position. Earlier, Satheesan had avoided taking a clear position when reporters asked him whether the full stanzas would be recited at the function. His reply was brief: “Watch what happens on Independence Day.” The controversy began after the chief secretary directed government institutions to follow the Central government’s instruction to sing the full stanzas of the national song during Independence Day and Har Ghar Tiranga events.