In a politically loaded moment that triggered fresh debate over nationalism and symbolism, newly sworn-in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay ensured that the full rendition of Vande Mataram was played at his swearing-in ceremony in Chennai on Sunday — something the Bharatiya Janata Party itself had notably failed to do just a day earlier at the Bengal Chief Minister’s oath-taking attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The irony did not go unnoticed in political circles.
Just months ago, the Narendra Modi government had sparked a nationwide controversy after issuing fresh directives elevating Vande Mataram to a status equivalent to the national anthem and mandating that all six original stanzas be rendered at official events.
The BJP had aggressively framed the issue as a test of nationalism, repeatedly attacking opposition parties — especially the Indian National Congress — for allegedly being reluctant to fully endorse the national song.
Yet at Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony of Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata, attended by the BJP’s entire top leadership, the full Vande Mataram was conspicuously absent.
Vijay Does What BJP Only Preached
At Vijay’s ceremony, however, Vande Mataram was rendered in full before the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, followed later by the Tamil state song Tamil Thai Valthu.
The sequence precisely followed the controversial January 28 directive issued by the Union Home Ministry.
The event became even more politically symbolic because Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared the stage with Vijay during the ceremony — despite Congress having strongly criticised the BJP government’s earlier handling of the issue.
Political observers noted that Vijay’s decision effectively neutralised one of the BJP’s long-running ideological attack lines by demonstrating that opposition-aligned parties could respect national symbols without turning them into instruments of partisan politics.
BJP’s Nationalism Politics Comes Full Circle
The Modi government’s directive earlier this year had triggered sharp reactions across opposition parties and constitutional scholars.
The Centre had not only accorded Vande Mataram equal ceremonial status with the national anthem but also mandated that all six original stanzas be sung at official functions — departing from the long-standing post-Independence practice of rendering only the first two stanzas adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.
Former Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused the BJP of disrespecting Rabindranath Tagore by placing Vande Mataram ahead of Jana Gana Mana, which was written by Tagore.
Congress leaders had similarly argued that the BJP was distorting historical consensus reached during the freedom movement to accommodate India’s religious and cultural diversity.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had remarked that it was “deeply ironic” that political forces claiming exclusive ownership over nationalism had historically played little role in the freedom struggle where Vande Mataram emerged as a rallying cry.
The BJP, in turn, accused Congress of “appeasement politics” and claimed earlier compromises on the song’s rendition diluted national identity.
Vijay Sends a Broader Political Signal
By fully implementing the controversial protocol at his own ceremony — while the BJP itself failed to do so in Bengal — Vijay managed to send multiple political messages simultaneously.
First, he positioned himself as someone comfortable embracing both Tamil regional identity and broader national symbolism.
Second, he deprived the BJP of a familiar ideological polarisation issue in Tamil Nadu, where national-cultural debates have historically faced resistance from Dravidian politics.
And third, he subtly exposed what critics described as the BJP’s selective deployment of nationalism depending on political convenience.
For a leader just hours into office, Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony thus became more than a ceremonial transition — it evolved into an early ideological statement on nationalism, federalism and political symbolism in contemporary India.
Also Read: Joseph Vijay Is Now Tamilnadu CM https://www.vibesofindia.com/joseph-vijay-is-now-tamilnadu-cm/
