Bharat Mata portrait row: CPI hoists national flag, plants saplings

Thrissur: CPI, the second-largest partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala, on Saturday hoisted the national flag and planted saplings as a mark of protest against the usage of the Bharat Mata portrait at an Environment Day event in the Raj Bhavan.

State Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P Prasad had boycotted the event at the Raj Bhavan on June 5 over the use of the portrait, citing that it was the one used by the RSS.

The Left party had announced that it would hoist the national flag, which is the symbol of Bharat Mata, at all its branches on Saturday and would plant saplings as a mark of protest against the Raj Bhavan's action.

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam hoisted the flag and planted the sapling at the party district office in Thrissur on Saturday morning.

State Revenue Minister P Rajan and senior leader and former minister V S Sunil Kumar were among those who were present during the protest event.

After the event, Viswam sought to know whether the Constitution of the country or the policies of the RSS were important for Governor Vishwanath Rajendra Arlekar.

"This flag is the Bharat Mata. There is no Bharat Mata other than this," he said, hoisting the national flag.

Apparently criticising the Governor, he said any attempt to impose another concept of Bharat Mata is "unconstitutional" and "anti-national".

CPI leaders and workers gathered and raised "Bharat Mata ki jai" slogan also.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan rejected reporters' question about whether the ruling party was not keen to criticise the Governor in the matter like its front partner CPI.

"Raj Bhavan should not be used as a venue to propagate communal ideologies. No symbol that propagates communal ideologies should be displayed at a public place like Raj Bhavan. That is our stand," he said.

He also said he himself appreciated Agriculture Minister Prasad when he had boycotted the Raj Bhavan event over the portrait issue.

The Left government in Kerala on Friday made it clear that it was not in agreement with the use of the Bharat Mata portrait at the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan here, as the picture was not authorised as the official version by the Constitution or the Indian government.

Minister Prasad, who had boycotted the event, said on Friday that those in constitutional offices cannot convert government programmes into political events.

A similar view was also expressed by state General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who said that the Raj Bhavan and the Governor were above politics and said that Arlekar should withdraw from the stand taken by him.

As the incident triggered a row, the Governor had issued a statement saying that "Whatever be the pressure, from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata."