NEW DELHI: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly condemned the Southern Railway for allegedly making school students sing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express from Ernakulam to Bengaluru on Saturday.“The @GMSRailway making students sing the RSS anthem at the flag-off of the Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express is highly condemnable. Including the anthem of an organisation known for its communal ideology and hate mongering in an official event is a blatant violation of constitutional principles,” the Kerala CM said.

Calling it a “blatant violation of constitutional principles”, Vijayan questioned the Railways’ choice of song for an “official” function and its move to share it on social media handles. The Southern Railway reportedly withdrew the social media post following widespread criticism against it, according to news agency PTI.“By sharing the video on its social media handles, the railway authorities have exposed how eminent national institutions are being subverted by Sangh Parivar politics,” he said in a post on X.“Once a proud symbol of India’s secular nationalism, the Railways is now being used to sneak communal ideology into official functions. All secular and democratic forces must unite to resist this dangerous move,” he added.CPM Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas also condemned the move saying, in a post on X, “The RSS Ganageetham formed an integral part of the highly politicised inauguration of the new Vande Bharat service between Ernakulam and Bangalore. Indian Railways has stooped to new depths, as even the announcement of new services is now marked by political fanfare while sidelining people’s representatives.”TV visuals showed students aboard the Vande Bharat Express singing an RSS song, PTI reported.