You could call it a minor but telling blunder that happened in Bengaluru on Wednesday: after the MC called for Vande Mataram, the state anthem started up instead. The fix was quick – they cut the sound and put things back in order – and it kept a potential controversy from running with it.
Protocol lapse and quick recovery
They were set to open with an announcement of Vande Mataram. What you got was the Karnataka state anthem. Organisers didn’t let it go on for long; they put a stop to it and moved on to the proper track.
All of this was at the Glass House in Lok Bhavan. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had to administer the oaths to Shivakumar and make sure the rest of the day’s business wasn’t derailed.
Here is how it went down at the venue:
– An announcement for Vande Mataram was followed by the wrong anthem
– Officials put an end to it partway through
– Then Vande Mataram was played, as it should have been
Why the sequence matters
When you are at a function of this level, people are watching the order of things like hawks. A little misstep can be read into politically. This one on Wednesday got some eyes on it, not least because of a row in next-door Tamil Nadu over the same kind of thing at a Cabinet swearing-in just a few days prior.
In the case of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government under CM Joseph Vijay, there were complaints that the Tamil invocation song was put at the tail end of the oath ceremony for new ministers. Some parties made an issue of it coming after Vande Mataram and the National Anthem, which only fanned the debate on who or what comes first.
High-profile audience and political signals
The room at Lok Bhavan was well-stocked. You had Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi, plus the chief ministers from Himachal, Telangana and Kerala. Shivakumar also made time to say hello to former CM Siddaramaiah before he was sworn in.
The new power structure was on display too. G Parmeshwara, the ex-Home Minister, was made Deputy CM. Priyank Kharge, Yathindra and 10 more were inducted, for a cabinet that has some old hands and some from the next generation of leadership.
Setting and administration of oath
Governor Gehlot was in charge of the proceedings at the Glass House. The opening was a bit of a glitch, but the oath-taking itself was no less formal for it, and they stuck to the schedule.
What the episode underscores
It is a reminder that being precise in your ceremonies is more than for show; it’s about maintaining the public’s faith in the state. One wrong move can take the shine off a milestone, especially when the politics are hot and other stories are still in the news.
By nipping it in the bud, the organisers made sure the focus stayed on the new government and not on a mistake. It is a lesson for anyone running an official event: you have to be in step with the stage to keep protocol and the public happy.
