RSS song on board Vande Bharat Express; Kerala education minister orders probe

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s education minister V. Sivankutty has ordered an inquiry after students were made to sing an RSS “Gana Geetham” on board the Vande Bharat Express. The director of general education has been instructed to submit a report immediately.

The incident took place during the official launch of Kerala’s third Vande Bharat train, Ernakulam–KSR Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off virtually on Saturday.

Sivankutty said the government views the incident with utmost seriousness and will examine whether there were lapses in conducting an official event involving students. He added that using children for political purposes or to advance the sectarian agendas of particular groups violates constitutional principles. Further action will be taken based on the report. The government, he said, has a responsibility to safeguard the nation’s secular ethos and will ensure it is upheld.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote on Facebook that the act amounted to a violation of constitutional values. Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan accused the Union government of using Indian Railways for communal propaganda, while AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the RSS was attempting to poison the minds of children.

Following the controversy, the Southern Railway initially removed the Facebook post in which it had shared the Gana Geetham, but later reposted the video on X with an English translation.