New Delhi, May 11 -- Hours after Joseph Vijay took the oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, 10 May, a controversy erupted over the order in which songs were played at the swearing-in ceremony in Chennai. The Tamil state song, Thaai Vaazhthu, was sung after Vande Mataram and the national anthem Jana Gana Mana during the ceremony.

The sequence of songs was a departure from long-followed state protocol and immediately triggered sharp reactions not just from the opposition DMK, but also from parties supporting Vijay's government. The TVK distanced itself from the decision and blamed it, instead, on a "new Union government circular".

Tamil Nadu CPI Secretary M Veerapandiyan issued a letter taking exception to the Tamil song be...