‘Not a terrorist song; if you can’t enjoy it, turn your ears away’: Suresh Gopi on Gana Geetham row

Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi has defended the incident in which school students sang the RSS Gana Geetham aboard the Ernakulam–Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express, saying the song was part of a celebration and should not be turned into a controversy.

“Music is meant to be enjoyed; it’s not a terrorist song,” the minister said, responding to the row over the video that surfaced earlier this week.

He dismissed allegations that the children had been forced to sing the song, calling such claims baseless. “The assertion that the children were ‘made to sing’ is just an allegation. The whole world will recognise the malicious intent behind it. It was simply part of the children’s celebration,” the actor-politician said.

“Music is universal, it has no language, caste, or religion. Doesn’t the government even confer awards for such music?” he added.

Defending the incident further, he said the children sang voluntarily and accused critics of attempting to politicise a joyful moment. “The children sang of their own accord; we did not stop them. That is our broad-mindedness. It’s not a terrorist song, it’s music. If you can’t enjoy it, turn your ears, turn your heart, turn your face… do whatever you want. Those creating controversies are trying to inject poison into something the children did with joy,” he said.

The Kerala Education Department has announced an inquiry into the incident, stating that the use of children for promoting the communal agenda of any particular group would be a violation of constitutional principles. The Director of General Education has been directed to submit a report on the matter.