Vande Bharat Inauguration Reveals Covert Hindutva Push, Says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condemned the reported act of Southern Railway making school students sing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, describing it as an attempt to covertly promote extreme Hindutva politics.

In a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, Vijayan said that the inclusion of a Gana Geetham closely associated with the RSS in an official government programme is a violation of constitutional principles. He said that the inauguration ceremony of the Vande Bharat Express witnessed the “sneaking in” of Hindutva politics under the guise of a patriotic event.

The Chief Minister pointed out that visuals circulating on social media showed students singing the RSS song during the train’s inaugural journey, which Southern Railway had shared online with the caption “patriotic song.” He called this act “highly objectionable” and said that it made Southern Railway appear ridiculous while also insulting the legacy of the Indian national movement.

“It is unacceptable that even the country’s largest public sector institution, the Railways, is being used by the Sangh Parivar for communal political propaganda,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.

He added that the Railways, which stood as a symbol of India’s secular nationalism during the freedom struggle, now appears to be succumbing to the communal agenda of the RSS, an organisation that had opposed the national movement. Such actions, the Chief Minister said, reflect a narrow political mindset aimed at undermining secularism and weakening the constitutional fabric of the country.

Pinarayi Vijayan urged people from all sections of society to recognise this attempt to communalise public institutions and to register strong democratic protest against it.

Southern Railway reportedly withdrew the social media post following widespread criticism.