Kerala minister: ‘Don’t teach me patriotism’; walks away as Vande Mataram is sung in full

mangaloretoday.com

Kasargod, November 10, 2026: The Vande Mataram controversy continues to haunt the Congress government in Keralam, where the party’s official stand is to sing the first two stanzas in all state government functions. However, the song was sung in full at an official function attended by senior Congress leader and Health Minister K Muraleedharan in Kasaragod on Monday, prompting him to return to his seat midway.

The minister was attending the inauguration of a laboratory at a family health centre at Mulleria, Kasaragod, organised by the health department. The panchayat here is ruled by the BJP, and local bodies have considerable say in the running of family health centres in the state.

The confusion was evident as Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan, MLA Kallatra Mahin and district collector Sreedhanya Suresh also returned to their seats before the rendition was over. On the other hand, Congress MLA from the district, K Neelakandan, and Congress district committee president P K Faizal stood on the dais till the rendition was over.

On Tuesday, the BJP came out against the conduct of the minister, the MP and the district collector. BJP district president M L Ashwini said their actions conveyed a wrong message to society. “This is a serious violation of the protocol. They have insulted the national song. We will protest against the minister and initiate legal action against officials who insulted the national song,” she said.