Comeback queen J Jayalalithaa's swearing-in ceremony ran into controversy on Saturday as the Tamil Nadu administration played a truncated version of the national anthem.
The AIADMK chief made a triumphant return as the chief minister for the fifth time on Saturday when she was sworn in along with 28 ministers during a simple ceremony in the Madras University Centenary Auditorium.
Just before Jayalalithaa rose to take the oath, the Tamil Nadu administration played the state anthem in full but cut short the national anthem by about 20 seconds.
The national anthem does have a shorter 20-second version but playing this at the swearing-in ceremony appears to be a violation of the Union home ministry’s orders.
The home ministry lists nine categories of occasions when the full 52-second version of the national anthem must be played.