UDF councillors walk out as BJP sings Vande Mataram in full in Keralam’s Palakkad municipality

United Democratic Front (UDF) councillors walked out of a special council meeting of the Palakkad municipality here on Monday (August 31, 2026) as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors sang Vande Mataram in full.The UDF councillors said the front had decided not to sing the national song in its entirety. After signing the attendance register, they left the council hall instead of joining the rendition.They said they opposed the BJP’s insistence on singing the song in full. Traditionally, only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram have been recited at municipal council meetings.LDF councillors’ standLeft Democratic Front (LDF) councillors also did not sing the song in full. They returned to their seats after the first two stanzas were sung. The BJP councillors, however, continued with the full rendition before the council proceedings began.The council is expected to discuss the differing positions on the rendition of Vande Mataram in coming days.The BJP accused the UDF and LDF councillors of disrespecting the song and said it would take legal action against them. Published - August 31, 2026 07:12 pm IST