Thiruvananthapuram Nov 8 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday strongly condemned the Southern Railway after students were made to sing an RSS “Gana Geetham” during the inauguration of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, calling it “a gross violation of constitutional principles and secular values.”

The incident took place during the official launch of Kerala’s third Vande Bharat train, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off virtually on Saturday.

The event at Ernakulam South station was meant to mark a milestone in Kerala’s rail connectivity, but it soon drew controversy after the RSS-linked song — shared by Southern Railway on social media as a “patriotic number” — was identified.

Vijayan said it was “unacceptable” that a government function had been used to propagate the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organisation that “spreads communal hatred and divisive politics.”

Including the RSS anthem, he said, mocked India’s freedom struggle and secular national movement.

“The Indian Railways, which once stood as a pillar of secular nationalism during the independence movement, is now being used to promote the RSS’s communal agenda. This is an affront to the very foundations of our Republic,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.

He described the inclusion of the song as “a covert attempt to push hardline Hindutva politics under the guise of patriotism” and urged citizens to recognise and resist such efforts to undermine India’s secular character.

The Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, flagged off along with three other new services from Varanasi, will cover 608 km in nine hours with 11 stops.

While the launch marked another milestone for Kerala’s rail modernisation, the controversy over the song has cast a shadow over what was meant to be a celebratory occasion.

Incidentally, following the outbreak of the controversy, the Southern Railway has removed the pictures of the school students singing the song from their social media account.

–IANS

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