Kerala CM Satheesan says UDF was unaware full rendition of Vande Mataram would be sung at swearing-in

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the UDF government's swearing-in ceremony featured the full rendition of Vande Mataram as per a decision by Lok Bhavan, and that neither he nor his colleagues had prior knowledge of it.

Responding to the controversy triggered by the full rendition of the national song during the oath-taking ceremony, Satheesan said the incoming government had not been informed in advance that the complete version would be sung.

"We did not know that Vande Mataram would be rendered in full. The instructions came from Lok Bhavan. We realised it only when it began being sung in its entirety while we were standing there. It was not possible to interrupt it midway," the CM told reporters here.

The issue sparked sharp political reactions, with the CPI(M) questioning the singing of the full Vande Mataram during the swearing-in ceremony of the UDF Cabinet.

The Marxist party on Tuesday criticised the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the swearing-in ceremony, calling it an "incorrect step" and saying it was "inappropriate in a pluralistic society." The BJP, however, hit out at the CPI(M), accusing the Communists of "insulting" the national song to "appease radical vote-bank forces such as Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI." Soon after Monday's swearing-in ceremony, CPI(M) leader P A Mohamed Riyas raised concerns over the full rendition of Vande Mataram, claiming that officially only its first two stanzas are sung.

Riyas's remarks drew a sharp response from BJP MLA V Muraleedharan, who questioned which parts of the national song had troubled the CPI(M) leader.