When former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sent a letter to Governor Rajendra Arlekar in June 2025, saying the use of Bharat Mata portrait during official functions at Lok Bhavan was "not in line with the Constitution", the move was welcomed by then Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan.
Now, Satheesan is set to be sworn in as Kerala chief minister on May 18. But the swearing-in ceremony itself could land in a controversy if Governor Arlekar repeats what happened during the oath-taking event of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. Arlekar is governor to both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The national song, Vande Mataram, was sung before the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, in the presence of Vijay and Rahul Gandhi.
While only two stanzas of Vande Mataram were adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a directive dated January 28, notified that all the six stanzas should be sung at official functions. During Vijay's swearing-in, all six stanzas were sung.
The Congress slammed the move, pointing out that the last four stanzas of Vande Mataram have religious overtones and hence should be omitted, considering sentiments of different communities. Moreover, the Tamil state song ‘Thamizhthai Vaazhthu’ was played at the end, a marked departure from previous official events where it is sung first. However, TVK said it was strictly following the Centre's protocol for the event. TVK allies CPI, CPI(M) and VCK have also questioned the Vijay-led government's commitment to secular politics.
It remains to be seen what stance the Kerala unit of the Congress takes when Satheesan is sworn in as CM on Monday. The CPI(M)-led LDF, the opposition in Kerala, will also take a strong stand in the issue.
Surprisingly, Vande Mataram was not played at the swearing-in of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari despite the national song being written by Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others also attended the event.