Thiruvananthapuram, May 29 (IANS) Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday publicly confirmed that Lok Bhavan had insisted on the full rendition of Vande Mataram during the opening session of the Assembly, keeping alive the political controversy that overshadowed the maiden policy address of the new UDF government. However, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left weighed in on the controversy by backing the existing convention of singing the truncated version.

Speaking to reporters at Lok Bhavan after participating in a paddy sapling planting programme, Arlekar said the Governor’s office had clearly conveyed its stand before the Assembly proceedings.

“What we had insisted was that whenever the Governor is present, Vande Mataram has to be sung fully. They did not sing it but only played it, and they could have done it. Let us see. I have spoken to the Speaker,” the Governor said.

His remarks came hours after the Kerala Police band played only the opening portion of Vande Mataram before the Governor’s policy address in the Assembly, despite reported directions from Lok Bhavan during rehearsals that the full version should be rendered.

The controversy quickly snowballed into the first major political confrontation of the new UDF government headed by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

Leading the BJP’s attack was first-time legislator and former Union Minister V. Muraleedharan, one of the BJP’s three MLAs in the newly-constituted Assembly.

Muraleedharan accused the government of insulting both the Governor and the national song, alleging that the administration had bowed before the ideological positions of the CPI(M) and Jamaat-e-Islami.

The BJP leader also sought to corner the Congress historically, asking why the party was distancing itself from a song first rendered during the 1896 Congress session and closely associated with India’s freedom movement.

However, Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan dismissed demands for the full rendition, arguing that such insistence reflected the agenda of the RSS.

Vijayan said Kerala did not need to follow such a line and defended the existing practice followed in the Assembly.

While the Governor avoided direct confrontation inside the House earlier in the day, his latest remarks suggest Lok Bhavan is unlikely to let the matter quietly fade away.

With the BJP aggressively pushing the issue, the Left backing the existing convention and the UDF government caught in the middle, the Vande Mataram controversy has rapidly evolved into the first ideological battle of Kerala’s new political season.

–IANS

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