Kerala CM condemns students being made to sing RSS song onboard Vande Bharat Express

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday condemned the reported act of the Southern Railway making school students sing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express from Ernakulam to Bengaluru.

In a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Vijayan said that the reported act by the Southern Railway deserves to be protested.

Visuals on TV channels showed students singing the RSS song onboard the Vande Bharat Express.

He said that including the song of the RSS, which allegedly constantly spreads anti-religious hatred and communal divisive politics, in the official programme of the government is a violation of constitutional principles.

Using the country's largest public sector undertaking, the Railways, by the Sangh Parivar for spreading their alleged communal political propaganda, is unacceptable, the CM said.

By sharing on social media the singing of the RSS song on the train by the students with the caption -- 'a patriotic song' -- makes a mockery of the Southern Railway and the Indian national movement, the Marxist veteran claimed.

Speaking along similar lines, the Congress and the UDF opposition led by it also criticised the reported act of the Southern Railway.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, said that making students sing the RSS song as part of a government programme was ''illegal and undemocratic''.

He alleged that the BJP was trying to implement in Kerala the politics of division as seen in north India.

''Just as it uses constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission, for political purposes, the central government is now using the Indian Railways for communal propaganda,'' Satheesan claimed.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala termed as ''a highly despicable political conspiracy'', the reported act of making students sing the RSS song onboard the Vande Bharat.

It is tantamount to insulting the nation itself, he said.

Chennithala said that all government and constitutional institutions ''should show the dignity to refrain from such actions''.

Earlier, Vijayan, in his statement, contended that the Railways, which served as the cornerstone of India's secular nationalism during the freedom struggle, is now supporting the communal agenda of the RSS, which betrayed the freedom struggle.

The inauguration ceremony of Vande Bharat witnessed the sneaking-in of extreme Hindutva politics, he alleged.

The CM contended that narrow political mindsets aimed at destroying secularism were behind the incident.

Vijayan said that the people should recognise this and protest against it.

The Southern Railway reportedly withdrew the social media post following widespread criticism against it.