A political row has once again erupted in Tamil Nadu over the order in which the state song, Tamil Thai Vasthhu, was played, this time during the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed ministers at Lok Bhavan on Thursday. The controversy centers around the recall song that is performed after Vande Mataram and the national anthem.
The event was held in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, marking the first expansion of his government. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar administered oath to 23 newly appointed ministers, including 21 TVK MLAs and two Congress legislators.
A report by news agency PTI added that the Left parties strongly objected to the sequence in which the songs were played, arguing that the Tamil prayer song should not follow Vande Mataram and Jana Jana Mana in the ceremony.
This is not the first time this issue has been raised. A similar controversy had erupted earlier when the third Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung during the swearing-in of Prime Minister Vijay on May 10, again after Vande Mataram and the national anthem.
The CPI calls for prioritizing the country’s song
Reacting to the latest incident, Communist Party of India State Minister M Veerapandian stressed that the sentiments of the Tamil people must be respected and the state anthem must be given precedence.
“We reiterate that the governor should pay more attention to giving priority to the Tamil anthem. We respect the Indian national song and the national anthem. But we reiterate that the governor should give priority to the Tamil anthem,” PTI quoted him as saying in Chennai.
He clarified that the party was not opposed to Vande Mataram or Jana Gana Mana, but only objected to the sequence on official occasions.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) state minister P Shanmugam said the issue has already been raised with the chief minister, who has reportedly made it clear that Vande Mataram will be played first in all events attended by the governor, the news agency report added.
At the time, Veerapandian questioned Vande Mataram’s status, arguing that “it has been proven during the freedom struggle itself that the song Vande Mataram cannot serve as the national anthem as the song is dedicated to a particular deity and has a sectarian religious character,” the news agency reported.
What did TVK say before
The ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam Party has distanced itself from the controversy, with its newly appointed minister Aadhav Arjuna claiming that the party did not agree to play the Tamil prayer song in third place and supported the practice followed in the state.
Arjuna also said that the matter was taken up with Governor Arlikar after the ceremony and the Governor’s office reportedly cited the Union government’s circular as the reason for the ensuing sequence.
“When we pressed the Governor’s side on this matter, we were informed that the Governor, as the responsible authority, should act as per the new circular from the Union government,” he wrote in a post on X.
However, Arjuna also termed the sequence followed at the event as “inappropriate for Tamil Nadu”.
He added that this arrangement would not continue at future events, saying: “In the future, this new practice will not be followed. Instead, as per the previous practice, the Tamil supplication song will be played at the beginning of the event, and the national anthem at the end.”
