Fresh Vande Mataram row in Keralam as Health Minister returns to seat before full rendition ends at State govt event; BJP seeks apology

K. Muraleedharan | Photo Credit: The Hindu Keralam Health Minister K. Muraleedharan returned to his seat before the full rendition of Vande Mataram was completed at an official function in Kasaragod on Monday (November 9, 2026), prompting the BJP to demand an apology. The Minister has defended his action, saying he would not allow anyone to “hijack” a State government event.The incident took place during the inauguration of a laboratory at Mulleria Family Health Centre, a government facility, in Kasaragod.Referring to the incident, Mr. Muraleedharan on Tuesday said he would not cooperate with any attempt to “hijack” a State government function and that was what he indicated through his actions.‘Don’t need anyone to teach me patriotism’“I do not need anyone to teach me patriotism. I am the son of a freedom fighter,” the Minister, who is the son of late Congress stalwart and former Keralam Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, said.He further said he and the government would cooperate with the protocol for Central government events and the policy of local bodies regarding programmes conducted by them.“If the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is holding an event, it has its own policy on how to conduct it, and I will abide by that as it is their internal matter. But, if a State government programme is sought to be hijacked, it will not be accepted, and that is what I indicated a day ago,” he told reporters.State govt policyThe State government’s policy is that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung in its programmes.He further said that a prayer was supposed to be held as per the programme schedule; instead, Vande Mataram was sung. “The State government’s protest was indicated there and then,” he added.Meanwhile, the BJP reportedly demanded an apology from the Minister for sitting down during the singing of the Vande Mataram.Visuals aired by news channels showed the District Collector, Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan and MLA K. Mahin, who were seated alongside the Minister, also sitting down before the song ended.However, MLA K. Neelakandan and DCC president P.K. Faisal remained standing until the entire song was sung.The Minister and others reportedly attempted to sit down after the first two stanzas were sung. However, the song continued, after which they took their seats.Visuals of the event also showed the Minister speaking to people seated near him while the song was being sung.The incident comes amid a debate over the Centre’s directive to sing Vande Mataram in its entirety at official functions.The Congress has maintained that singing the first two stanzas is sufficient.Mr. Muraleedharan had earlier said that the full version of Vande Mataram would not be sung in Keralam and that only the first two stanzas would be included in government functions. Published - November 10, 2026 02:35 pm IST