CPI(M) leader Rajeeve accuses Kerala CM of misleading public over Vande Mataram law

Bengaluru: CPI(M) Central Committee member P Rajeeve on Sunday accused Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan of misleading the public by claiming that a law recently passed by Parliament provides for up to three years’ imprisonment for failing to sing Vande Mataram in full.

Rajeeve, a former Kerala law minister, said Parliament had not passed any legislation mandating that the national song be sung in its entirety or prescribing imprisonment for failing to do so.

In a post on X, Rajeeve said the legislation instead makes it an offence to prevent the singing of Vande Mataram or disrupt its rendition.


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“Parliament has passed no such Bill” requiring the song to be sung in full or providing for a three-year jail term for failing to do so, he said.

Rajeeve also accused Satheesan of attempting to “give legal legitimacy to an RSS agenda” by presenting the legislation in such terms.

The remarks come amid a political debate over the scope of the legislation and the obligations it places on citizens in relation to the national song. Rajeeve accused Satheesan of attempting to create a public narrative around provisions that, he said, were not part of the law passed by Parliament.