Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday slammed Southern Railway for allegedly making students sing the RSS Gana Geet during the inauguration of the Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat train service. The incident, which took place at a government event, has drawn sharp criticism from Vijayan, who raised concerns over maintaining religious and political neutrality in official programmes.
"The act of the Southern Railway, which made students sing the RSS Gana Geet during the inauguration of the Ernakulam - Bengaluru Vande Bharat service, is extremely protestable," Vijayan said, describing it as "unacceptable" and calling for public protest.
"The inclusion of the RSS song, which constantly spreads hatred against other religions and communal divisive politics, in the official program of the government is a violation of constitutional principles," he further claimed.
Vijayan also mentioned that such actions undermine the secular character of government events. "The inauguration ceremony of Vande Bharat witnessed the sneaking of extreme Hindutva politics. Behind this was a narrow political mindset aimed at destroying secularism," he said, reiterating his call for public protest.
"It is unacceptable that the Sangh Parivar is using even the country's largest public sector enterprise, the Railways, for their communal political propaganda. By sharing this Gana Geet on social media with the caption 'a patriotic song', the Southern Railway not only made a mockery of itself but also mocked the Indian national movement. The Railways, which served as the cornerstone of India's secular nationalism during the freedom struggle, are now supporting the communal agenda of the RSS, which betrayed the freedom struggle," he added.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said that Indian Railways had "stooped to new depths" as he shared a video showing children singing the RSS song at the inauguration of the new Vande Bharat service.
"The RSS Ganageetham formed an integral part of the highly politicised [event] between Ernakulam and Bangalore. Indian Railways has stooped to new depths, as even the announcement of new services is now marked by political fanfare while sidelining people’s representatives," he tweeted while posting the video.
In previous comments, Chief Minister Vijayan drew a parallel between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Zionists in Israel last month, calling them "twin brothers" who "might agree on many things" at a remembrance meeting in Kannur. In response to the Centre's decision to commemorate the RSS centenary, Vijayan had criticised the move on social media, saying issuing a postage stamp and a ₹100 coin is "a grave insult to our Constitution."
Also read: Vijayan writes to MP CM over Kerala priest’s arrest
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