Kerala govt orders probe into children singing RSS song on board Vande Bharat    

The Kerala government on Sunday ordered a probe into the reported act of the Southern Railway making school students sing an RSS song on board the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express from Ernakulam to Bengaluru.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty instructed the Director of Public Instructions (DPI) to conduct inquiry and submit a report in this regard. In a statement issued by the minister's office, Sivankutty said the government views the incident with utmost seriousness.

Politicising children at government events and using them to promote the communal agenda of any particular group is a violation of constitutional principles, he said.

"The Director of Public Instructions (DPI) has been directed to immediately conduct an inquiry and submit a report," he said.

The inquiry would examine whether there were any lapses in making students participate in the official event, he said, adding that appropriate further action would be taken based on the findings in the report.

The government has a responsibility to uphold the secular and national values of the country and steps will be taken to ensure that these principles are protected, Sivankutty added.

However, Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday justified the students singing the RSS song. It was part of the innocent celebration by children, he told reporters in Thrissur.

"They felt to sing that song at the moment and they did so. Anyway, it's not an extremist song," the union mister of state for petroleum, natural gas and tourism added.

The probe ordered by the state government and the justification of the union minister came a day after the singing of an RSS song by a group of school students on board the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express had drawn sharp reactions in Kerala.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday condemned the reported act of the Southern Railway saying that it deserves to be protested.