The Kerala government has ordered an inquiry into the singing of the RSS anthem by schoolchildren aboard the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express during its inaugural run on Saturday.

State general education minister V. Sivankutty on Sunday termed it a “serious issue” and said he would take it up with Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, with whom he is scheduled to meet in New Delhi on Monday over the PM-SHRI scheme.

Sivankutty has directed the director of public education to submit a detailed report on the incident.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Sivankutty said using children to promote the communal agenda of any particular group at government events was a violation of constitutional principles. "The state government will ensure the protection of the country's secular values and take action based on the report. The inquiry will examine whether there were any lapses in involving students in the official event,” Sivankutty said.

The two Union ministers from Kerala, George Kurian and Suresh Gopi, defended the students. Kurian said it was a "simple group song".

"The first line of Gana Geetham talks about sacred rivers, trees and orchards, followed by offering flowers to the motherland. I can't understand how communalism can be linked to this? The song also mentions Bhagat Singh, the Rani of Jhansi, Sree Narayana Guru and Swami Ramdas. There is no reference to Hinduism in it," he said in Kochi.

Gopi told a news channel that the students performed sincerely as part of a celebration. "It's not a song of terrorism, so there's no need to overreact," he added.