Kerala BJP youth wing burns effigies of Satheesan, Jinnah over Vande Mataram row

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP's youth wing, Yuva Morcha, burned effigies of Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in protest against non-singing of Vande Mataram in the state on Independence day.

Yuva Morcha marched to the Cliff House, the official residence of the CM on Sunday, and burned the effigies of Satheesan and Jinnah outside it.

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BJP state general secretary S Suresh, who inaugurated the protest, alleged that, just like Jinnah -- who led the partition of India -- Satheesan, under the pressure of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Jamaat-e-Islami, was taking the same stand as the founder of Pakistan.

He alleged that while the national song was sung in other Congress-ruled states, it was not sung in Kerala because the grand old party feared pressure from fundamentalists, including the Muslim League.

Suresh asserted that the alleged stance of insulting Vande Mataram, which has an important place in the history of the country's freedom struggle and national consciousness, was unacceptable and the Yuva Morcha cannot be a silent spectator to it.

He claimed that what is happening in Kerala now was a repetition of politics of Jinnah who allegedly led the way in cutting apart Vande Mataram, the soul of India's independence during 1930, and the country.

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The Yuva Morcha leaders announced that they will continue their public protest against the stand of questioning the nationalism and unity of the country until the attitude of insulting the Vande Mataram is corrected.

Similar protests were organised across the state, they claimed.

Besides Suresh, BJP state Vice President Shone George, the party's city district president Karamana Jayan and Yuva Morcha leaders, including its state president V Manuprasad, participated in the protest.