Kerala Health Minister defends sitting during Vande Mataram rendition in Kasaragod
K Muraleedharan rejected BJP criticism after he and other officials sat down before the full national song finished at a government event.
Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan defended his decision to return to his seat before the full rendition of Vande Mataram concluded at a government function in Kasaragod on Monday. The incident occurred during a laboratory inauguration at the Mulleria Family Health Centre, according to reports from The Hindu and The New Indian Express.
Muraleedharan stated that he would not permit a state government event to be hijacked and remarked that, as the son of a freedom fighter, his patriotism does not require instruction. He explained that the state government follows a protocol of singing only the two stanzas of the national song approved in 1947.
The minister noted that the scheduled programme included a prayer, but the full version of the song was instead performed. He said the state government's protest was demonstrated by his actions when the established protocol was not maintained by the panchayat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded an apology from the minister, alleging the actions violated the Constitution. Kasaragod BJP president ML Aswini claimed that Muraleedharan, MP Rajmohan Unnithan, Kallatra Mahin, and District Collector Sreedhanya Suresh sat and spoke after the first two stanzas, which she said disrupted the song.
Visuals showed that while MLA K Neelakantan remained standing, the minister and other officials took their seats after the initial two stanzas. The BJP has announced plans to file a formal complaint regarding the incident.