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Deccan Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
'Bharat Mata' row continues in Kerala with Guv tribute to portrait, CPI poster withdrawal
As part of the Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Arlekar paid floral tributes to the same 'Bharat Mata' portrait which had resulted in State Agricultural Minister P Prasad boycotting the Environment Day event there last week.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Bharat Mata' row continues in Kerala with Governor's tribute to portrait, CPI poster withdrawal
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The ' Bharat Mata ' controversy continued in Kerala as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar paid tributes to a 'Bharat Mata' portrait during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan , while the CPI withdrew a local party event poster featuring a different version of the image, showing her holding the national part of the Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Arlekar paid floral tributes to the same 'Bharat Mata' portrait which had resulted in State Agricultural Minister P Prasad boycotting the Environment Day event there last Foundation Day was celebrated at the Kerala Raj Bhavan as part of the ' Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat ' initiative, the Governor's office same day, the CPI withdrew a poster, in connection with a local party event here from June 13 to 15, that carried an image of 'Bharat Mata' dressed in a tricolor saree and holding the national flag.V B Binu, CPI District Secretary, said that as soon as information about the poster was received, instructions were given to withdraw it from social media to avoid "unnecessary controversy".He also said that it was not right to combine the national flag with party programmes or CPI, the second-largest partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala, was the first to object to the use of the 'Bharat Mata' portrait by the Raj leader and minister, Prasad, boycotted the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan as floral tributes had to be paid to the had later said that there was no official version of the 'Bharat Mata' according to the Constitution or the India government and the portrait at the event was widely used by the RSS Shortly thereafter, the CPI announced a campaign of hoisting the national flag and planting saplings before June 7, it hoisted national flags and planted saplings at all its branches and also raised ' Bharat Mata ki jai ' very next day, Arlekar took a dig at the Left party saying, "Those who never thought of 'Bharat Mata' are saying 'Bharat Mata ki jai'. That is a good contribution. I appreciate that." The same day, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that there was no concept of 'Bharat Mata' as it was not there in the Constitution.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Row over Bharat Mata concept unfortunate: Governor Rajendra Arlekar
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The concept of Bharat Mata should not be turned into a controversy, Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar said on Sunday. 'All Bharatiyas grew up taking a pledge that they are sons and daughters of one mother. People should be able to regard the concept of Bharat Mata with high esteem, irrespective of their political affiliations or ideologies. It is unfortunate that this idea is being dragged into controversy,' Arlekar said.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Kerala Governor takes dig at CPI over 'Bharat Mata' issue
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar criticised CPI, the second largest party in ruling LDF, that hoisted national flags and raised 'Bharat Mata ki jai' slogans as a mark of protest against the use of Bharat Mata portrait at Raj Bhavan during an environment day event. In an apparent reference to the CPI campaign but without naming them, Arlekar, at an event here said, "Those who never thought of 'Bharat Mata' are saying 'Bharat Mata ki jai'. That is a good contribution. I appreciate that." At the same time, the Governor said that 'Bharat Mata' cannot be an issue for debate. "It cannot be an issue for discussion. How can it be? 'Bharat Mata' is above everything and beyond everything," he said. Arekar further said that while everyone may have their different thoughts and ideologies, "we are all brothers and sisters, that particular thing has to be there in our minds". On the other hand, CPI state secretary M V Govindan said that there is no concept of 'Bharat Mata' as it is not there in the Constitution. Meanwhile, the CPI said it was currently not going to have a discussion with its ally CPI on the issue. "We do not think now is the time for a discussion on that," CPI state secretary Binoy Viswom said. The row was kicked off when the Raj Bhavan decided to use a 'Bharat Mata' portrait for the Environment Day event, resulting in it being boycotted by State Agriculture Minister and CPI leader P Prasad. He claimed that the portrait was the one used by the RSS. He had also said that the portrait was not authorised as the official version by the Constitution or the Indian government. Following Prasad's boycott of the event, the Governor had issued a statement saying that "Whatever be the pressure, from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata." Subsequently, the CPI had announced that it would hoist the national flag, which is the symbol of Bharat Mata, at all its branches on Saturday and would plant saplings in front of it as a mark of protest against the Governor's stand.
The Print
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Another Kerala govt-Raj Bhavan kerfuffle, this time over ‘RSS-style' Bharat Mata tribute
Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad said that the picture displayed at the Raj Bhavan is typically used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in its functions. The celebrations, originally planned by the state agricultural department, were supposed to be held at the Kerala Raj Bhavan and inaugurated by Governor Rajendra Arlekar, but were moved to the Kerala Secretariat's Durbar Hall after the Raj Bhavan allegedly insisted that floral tributes would be paid before an image of 'Bharat Mata' holding a saffron flag, placed on the central dais. Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government and Governor Rajendra Arlekar were locked in yet another confrontation Thursday as the state agricultural minister boycotted an 'Environment Day' event at the Raj Bhavan after the governor insisted on paying tribute to 'Bharat Mata'. The state government said the move is commonly associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 'Raj Bhavan shouldn't be a venue for mere political events. The governor shouldn't be doing political events from there. We are all politicians, but we never display that at public events. If I come with the CPI(M)'s flag for an agriculture department event, will it be right?' Prasad said, while speaking to the media Thursday. A statement from the governor, released by Raj Bhavan Thursday, said, 'The agricultural minister was supposed to come for today's event. But he was not able to come here. I don't know what better issues we have, better than environmental issues. I was told the the minister wanted Bharat Mata image be removed from the dais. I said we can anything possible, but we can't remove Bharat Mata.' 'These are the ideals, which we are living. That is why both the ministers (agriculture and education) are not coming here. I don't know what sort of thinking we have in our minds,' he added. Despite the boycott, the Raj Bhavan proceeded with its own celebration of the day, with Arlekar planting saplings at the premises. This is not the first time the governor and the government have clashed in the Left-ruled state, with disagreements particularly frequent during the term of Arlekar's predecessor, Arif Mohammed Khan. However, the initial period of Arlekar's tenure, appointed on 2 January 2025, suggested a more cordial relationship between the two. He publicly praised the state government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, including at a Republic Day event. However, this relationship soured after he faced criticism from both the Left Democratic Front and United Democratic Front (UDF) for his remarks after the Supreme Court laid down timelines in which governors must clear bills, calling Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi's delay in clearing bills 'illegal'. Arlekar called it 'judicial overreach'. Reacting to Thursday's incident, CPI(M) General Secretary M.V. Govindan said that the governor's action was part of the RSS's broader agenda to 'saffronise' the State. 'Bharat Mata is not an official symbol. The Governor is carrying out the RSS's saffronisation agenda. It was an unnecessary insistence from the Raj Bhavan to impose their tradition of paying tributes to a symbol on an official government function. It was a respectful decision taken by the minister to boycott the event. I congratulate him for that,' Govindan told reporters. Congress also condemned the incident. Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said Raj Bhavan, as a constitutional body, should not serve as a venue for RSS events. 'Raj Bhavan brought RSS leader Gurumurthy to talk about Operation Sindoor. He spoke ill of all the former Prime Ministers of India. Raj Bhavan should not be a venue for RSS events. We condemn it,' he said, speaking to reporters. 'Pinarayi Vijayan or CPI(M) didn't say anything against it then. Raj Bhavan shouldn't be turned into RSS headquarters.' On 21 May, the Raj Bhavan had hosted a talk on Operation Sindoor, sparking controversy after it invited RSS ideologue and editor of Thuglak magazine S. Gurumurthy as its lead speaker. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: How BJP is moving to co-opt Congress icons 'ripe for appropriation' in Kerala
