Vande Mataram song during Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony: CPI questions relegation of Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu

CPI state secretary M. Veerapandian, on Sunday (May 10, 2026), said the Tamil Nadu government should explain to the people who was responsible for relegating the Tamil invocation (Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu) to the third position during the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay earlier in the day.

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In a statement, Mr. Veerapandian said it was against the established convention to allow the rendering of Vande Mataram during the swearing-in ceremony held at Lok Bhavan.

“Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam should ensure that the Tamil invocation is accorded priority and should not allow a repetition of what happened during the swearing-in ceremony,” he said.

Mr. Veerapandian said the Tamil invocation should be rendered first when newly-elected MLAs take oath, followed by the national anthem.

“This practice should be followed in all government functions,” he said, adding that Vande Mataram, being a song dedicated to a deity, could not be treated as the national anthem.

CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam also demanded that the convention of singing Tamil invocation song in the beginning and Vande Mataram in the last. “The audience could not understand when Vande Mataram was rendered during the swearing-in ceremony,” he said

.Mr. Shanmugam welcomed the announcement of 200 units of free electricity by the new government.