New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) A political row erupted after only the opening portion of Vande Mataram was played before the Governor’s policy address in the Kerala Assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Saturday, called the incident “shameful” while the Opposition maintained that singing the full song cannot be enforced upon citizens.

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday had publicly confirmed that Lok Bhavan had insisted on the full rendition of Vande Mataram during the opening session of the Assembly. However, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left weighed in on the controversy by backing the existing convention of singing the truncated version.

Reacting on the same, BJP spokesperson Ajay Alok said: “It is shameful, absolutely shameful. This is an insult to the spirit of the nation, an insult to the national song, and an insult to our Constitution.”

“The Central Government has taken this matter seriously and will ensure that henceforth, whenever Vande Mataram is sung, it will be sung in full,” he added.

Alok stressed that just like the national anthem, singing the full national song will also be compulsory.

BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo blamed the “appeasement politics” of the Kerala government for not playing the full national song.

Asserting that Vande Mataram reflects the country’s national consciousness, he said: “If somebody does not play or sing the full national song, it will be an insult to the Centre’s guidelines and people may also have to face punishment for this.”

Shiv Sena national spokesperson Shaina NC questioned the purported religious objections to the national song. She asserted: “Parts of Vande Mataram represent beliefs of the nation, not a particular religion.”

“Please don’t spread communal disharmony under the garb of communal harmony,” she further said.

However, coming to the defence of the Kerala government, Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha asserted that patriotism runs through the blood of his party members.

While maintaining that the full version of the national song should have been played, he said: “Creating a controversy over this and giving us lessons on patriotism regarding this, is not right.”

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said that nothing should be enforced on people. “The flexibility that our Constitution provides, makes it unique.”

He echoed: “Nobody can determine anyone’s patriotism by enforcing something on them. This should be a person’s own decision whether he or she wants to sing the entire Vande Mataram or a portion of it.”

–IANS

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