Vijay plays ‘Vande Mataram’ before his oath ceremony in Tamil Nadu, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari did not

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s historic oath ceremony gained attention for several reasons on Sunday. The latest discussion has come after the national song Vande Mataram was sung before the national anthem before his swearing-in ceremony at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The song was sung in its full version, followed by Jana Gana Mana and the state anthem Tamil Thai Vazhtu.

The move has come after the Union Home Ministry ordered on January 28 this year that all six stanzas of the Song composed and written by Bengali poet Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882, must be sang first before the national anthem when they are played together.

The move changes the original practice of singing only two stanzas of the song adopted by the constituent assembly in 1950.

The directive triggered a massive row with opposition parties led by Congress, sharply criticising the move.

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it an insult to the national anthem composed by Rabindranath Tagore.

Interestingly, Vande Mataram was not played before the national anthem during West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by home minsuter amit shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several top BJP leaders.

The centre said it is observing the 150th year of the song, which played a major role in the struggle for freedom from colonial British rule.

Just days ago, the Union Cabinet had approved  the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which grants the song the same statutory protection as the national anthem.

Several Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were present during Vijay’s oath ceremony.

Former Chief Minister MK Stalin had also clashed with the Union government over the practice of singing Vande Mataram. Netizens had a field day creating memes on the occasion.