Pinarayi Vijayan accused railways being used to promote ‘communal ideology’, while the BJP said the CM is disrespecting children’s right to free speech.
A video shared by Southern Railway showing school students singing a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh song during the inaugural run of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday has sparked a political controversy in Kerala.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Railways was being used to “sneak communal ideology into official functions”, while Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan called it “unacceptable” that a national event had not been spared from “saffronisation”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, accused the chief minister of disrespecting “children’s right to free speech”.
Twenty students and two teachers from Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School in Kochi were among those who joined the inaugural run of the train on Saturday, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off virtually, The Indian Express reported.
Later in the day, the Southern Railway shared a video of the students singing a song titled Paramapavitramathamie Mannil Bharathambaye Poojikkan, which is associated with the RSS and its affiliated organisations, on social media, India Today reported.
