Overview
- Southern Railway first posted, then removed, and later reposted the video with an English translation, stating it showed a school song by Saraswathi Vidyanikethan students.
- Education Minister V. Sivankutty directed the Director of General Education to submit a report and later warned a school’s NOC could be reviewed if conditions tied to secular education were breached.
- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the inclusion of an RSS-associated song at a government event a violation of constitutional principles, while Congress leaders demanded accountability.
- BJP figures, including Union minister Suresh Gopi and state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, defended the rendition as an innocent or patriotic performance by children.
- The school principal said a TV crew requested a Malayalam song and that Railways had no role, as 20 students and two teachers joined the inaugural run flagged off virtually by the Prime Minister.