Kerala Vande Mataram row: BJP accuses UDF government of 'appeasing extremist groups'

The BJP has announced that it will challenge the decision both legally and politically, calling the alleged omission an insult to the Constitution and the country's national sentiment.

'Surrender to radical elements'

BJP leader Shone George accused Chief Minister VD Satheesan of deliberately excluding the national song to appease radical elements.

"We were convinced of this. Because this is not new - for the past one year, the chief minister has had an illicit relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami and anti-India forces, both openly and covertly in Kerala," George alleged.

He said the BJP had expected Vande Mataram to be included in the official programme and questioned the government's decision to leave it out.

George also warned that bureaucrats responsible for any order making the song optional could face action.

BJP claims song was made optional

George referred to reports that the state's General Education Department had issued guidelines making Vande Mataram optional.

"I haven't received the order, but if an official has issued such an order, make no mistake, that official will face consequences," he said.

He claimed BJP workers were marking Independence Day by singing the song at around 15,000 locations across Kerala.

"If it is not sung, it sends a bad message. A very bad message to an entire generation, to the next generation," George said.

Allegations of IUML appeasement

The BJP leader further alleged that the state government was deliberately creating a communal controversy around the national song to appease the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which holds the education portfolio in the UDF government.

The allegations have added another layer to the political confrontation between the BJP and the Congress-led government in the state.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar joins attack

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also criticised the alleged omission in a Facebook post, calling the government's action "unforgivable."

"The Congress/IUML government in Kerala did not sing even a single line of Vande Mataram at the official state function. This makes one thing clear: It is not the CM and the Congress who are running Kerala," Chandrasekhar said.

Another BJP leader, PK Krishnadas, accused the UDF government of undermining the spirit of Independence Day and alleged that the decision amounted to an insult to freedom fighters.

The controversy is expected to intensify, with the BJP vowing to pursue the issue through both political and legal channels.