Bharat Mata row: unofficial pics cannot be allowed in govt events, says Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Left government in Kerala on Friday made it clear that it was not in agreement with the use of the Bharat Mata portrait at the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan here, as the picture was not authorised as the official version by the Constitution or the Indian government.

Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad, who boycotted the event at the Raj Bhavan a day ago over the use of the portrait, said that those in constitutional offices cannot convert government programmes into political events.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty also expressed a similar view, saying that the Raj Bhavan and the Governor were above politics and that Arlekar should withdraw from his position.

The government's stand came a day after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar asserted that there would be no compromise on Bharat Mata.

In a mark of protest against the Governor's stand, the CPI announced that on June 7, all its branches will hoist the national flag, which is the symbol of Bharat Mata, and will plant saplings in front of it.

The campaign was announced in a statement issued by CPI state secretary Binoy Viswom.

Viswom, in an apparent reference to the Governor's stand, said the campaign was being launched in view of "attempts by certain centres of authority" to use the concept of Bharat Mata to "propagate anti-national ideas" in a manner that is "not in line with the Constitution".

He instructed party units to ensure that all those who are committed to the constitutional values of democracy and secularism are included in the campaign.

Earlier in the day, Prasad, while talking to a TV channel, said that no Bharat Mata portrait has ever been acknowledged as the official or authorised version by the Constitution or any of the governments in power since independence.

He further said that the portrait about to be used at the event did not carry the Indian flag but that of a political organisation, and therefore, it could not be honoured during a government event.

The minister said that the particular political organisation and the Governor were free to pay homage to the portrait at private events, but it cannot be done in state government programmes.

"We all have a political view, but those in constitutional positions have restrictions on how they express it," he added.

He said that the government's view was that such a stand ought not to have been taken by a constitutional establishment and expressed hope that it would be corrected by the concerned persons.

"It actually should not be repeated in our country. We cannot accept it in Kerala," he added.

The minister also questioned why the Governor was "rigid" on the issue, when none of the earlier Governors in the state, and not even the Presidents of the country, had carried out such a practice in the past.

For the World Environment Day event, the Raj Bhavan came out with a minute-to-minute programme, but it initially did not have anything about paying floral tributes to the portrait of Bharat Mata, he said. On the eve of the programme, a new schedule was sent to us, and it included paying for a floral tribute to the Bharat Mata portrait.

"So, I enquired with Raj Bhavan about the floral tributes and asked them to send me a portrait of the portrait. The portrait was the one used by the RSS and was not recognised or authorised as an official version. I informed the Raj Bhavan that we cannot offer floral tributes to it," he said.

The minister said that Raj Bhavan, in response, said they could not remove the portrait.

On being told that the opposition was criticising the lack of response on the issue by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Prasad said that the Congress-led UDF was trying to gain political mileage out of it, especially in view of the upcoming bypoll in Nilambur assembly constituency.

After learning about Raj Bhavan's stand, the state government relocated the event to the Secretariat's Durbar Hall, and Raj Bhavan went ahead with its programme.

Later, in a statement issued by Raj Bhavan, the Governor said, "Whatever the pressure, from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata." In his speech at the Raj Bhavan programme, the Governor said two ministers--the state Education Minister and Agriculture Minister--had agreed to attend the function, but they did not turn up for the event.

While the Sangh outfit Bharatiya Vichara Kendram strongly backed the Governor, the ruling CPI(M) and the Congress criticised the Raj Bhavan on the matter.