Vande Mataram Before Tamil Anthem: Vijay's Oath Sparks First Row Over Centre's 'Song Sequence' Circular

Chennai: Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister Vijay faces a challenge on Day 1 itself, the moment he was being sworn in on Sunday. While the sequence of songs played at the event might seem to be trivial to many, the opposition DMK, as well as several of TVK's allies has taken a strong exception, pointing out that playing Vande Mataram, followed by the national anthem Jana Gana Mana, and then playing the state anthem ‘Thamizhthai Vaazhthu’ goes against Tamil pride, and amounts to disrespecting Tamil culture and identity.

DMK's TKS Elangovan reportedly said that it has been a long practice in the state to play the Tamil anthem first, and the national anthem at the end.

“This time the Governor wants Vande Mataram to be sung first and then the Tamil anthem…that is not the practice,” he pointed out emphasisng that the episode indicates that Vijay might be siding with the BJP.

It has also been reported that even TVK allies - the CPM, CPI and the VCK, as well as the MDMK requested the Vijay-led party to follow the practice of singing the Tamil anthem first.

The TVK responded saying that the sequence of songs at the event was the Governor's call. TVK MLA Aadhav Arjuna issued a clarification in a post on X saying that the practice of sequncing the Tamil anthem at the third position in the sequence of songs is “inappropriate for Tamil Nadu”. 

“In mother Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu government, formed under the leadership of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, does not agree with the Tamil invocation song being played third,” he categorically stated.

Arjuna even asssured that this “this new practice will not be followed,” emphasising that “as per the earlier practice, the Tamil invocation song will be played at the beginning of the event, and the national anthem at the end.”

Vijay took oath as the Tamil Nady Chief Minister at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, finally marking the end of a week-long political thriller over government formation as the TVK did not have the rewuired numbers to stake claim to form the government. He was finally able to form the government with the support of Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, and IUML.

ALSO READ: ‘Vijay Mama Will Always Be There For You’: TVK’s Chief Emotional First Speech As Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Wins Hearts