Kerala Health Minister's Exit from Function Sparks Controversy Over Vande Mataram Performance

Keralam Health Minister K Muraleedharan returned to his seat before the full rendition of Vande Mataram was completed at an official function in Kasaragod a day ago, prompting the BJP to demand an apology. Defending his action, the minister said he would not allow anyone to "hijack" a state government event. The incident took place on Monday during the inauguration of a laboratory at the Mulleria Family Health Centre, a government facility, in this northern Keralam district. Referring to the incident, Muraleedharan on Tuesday said that he will not cooperate with any attempt to "hijack" a state government function and that is what he indicated through his actions. "I do not need anyone to teach me patriotism. I am the son of a freedom fighter," the minister, who is the son of late Congress stalwart and former Keralam Chief Minister K Karunakaran, said. He further said that he and the government will cooperate with the protocol for central government events and the policy of local bodies regarding programmes conducted by them. "If the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is holding an event, it has its own policy on how to conduct it, and I will abide by that as it is their internal matter. But, if a state government programme is sought to be hijacked, it will not be accepted, and that is what I indicated a day ago," he told reporters. The state government's policy is that only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram will be sung in its programmes.