Karnataka Govt Wants State Flag, BJP Calls Move Anti-national

Bengaluru: Can states have their own flags? At present, no state except Jammu and Kashmir has a flag, and Karnataka’s attempt to design one has been attacked by the BJP who called it “anti-national".

The Siddaramaiah government’s move to set up a panel of nine members to design a legally acceptable flag for the state became a big controversy on Tuesday, just days after the state saw big protests against the imposition of Hindi.

Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the BJP is clear that national sentiments should prevail over petty political considerations. “It is for the national party, the Congress party, to tell us if they agree with this idea of a separate flag."

Shoba Karandlaje, BJP MP from Karnataka, too flayed the Congress government in Karnataka saying the move is against the integrity of the country. “Our party has always fought for one nation, one flag. Asking for a flag is totally wrong, we don’t support this. Kashmir also should not have such a flag. What Siddaramaiah is doing is against the nation."

Experts point out there is nothing unconstitutional in any state having its own flag – except that the state pennant should be flown lower than the Tricolour.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah baited the BJP saying, “ Elections are in April. Let them make a statement saying they don’t need a flag."

Congress MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor, batted for his party saying a state can fly its own flag provided the supremacy of the national flag is not violated.

“Rules can be brought in to make clear the supremacy of the national flag. Kashmir already has a separate flag. If all states decide to follow the example, maybe Kashmir won’t stick out like a sore thumb," Tharoor said.

Karnataka Minister for IT Priyank Kharge too tweeted that there is nothing wrong with having a distinct identity, within the Constitutional framework.

Incidentally, Karnataka already has a red-and-yellow flag that is used unofficially during State Formation Day celebrations, both at government events and at private events of Kannada groups.

The first proposal for an official state flag came in 2014, with activists like Bhimappa Gadad and writer Patil Puttappa writing to the government to have an official flag within the legal framework. After nearly two years of reminders and the files even having been lost at one point, the government notification came out on June 6, setting up a committee to look into designing a flag within the legal framework.

"We need a state flag. The state flag is a recognition of our sentiments, culture, and feelings. I have no issues whether the state government gets a new flag or keep the same one," Gadad said.

The committee is to be headed by the Principal Secretary of the Kannada and Culture Department; other members include secretaries of the Law, Home, and Parliamentary Affairs departments, besides heads of the Kannada Development Authority, the Vice-Chancellor of the Kannada University and the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (a non-government body).

Since the controversy came in the wake of state-side protests against “imposition" of Hindi many see it as a further widening of the north-south divide – though BJP leaders in the south disagree.

“Karnataka has some running issues with Tamil Nadu. So that may be the reason Siddaramaiah came up with this to take political advantage, it’s not the north-south divide," Dattatreya said

Others took to Twitter, drawing a parallel with the United States of America where different states have their own flags along with the stars-and-stripes.

“I don’t see why it is raked up so much. We have a Matha Bhuvaneshwari we worship as the goddess in Karnataka – this is to bring the state’s people together. We don’t create terrorists here just because of this," said Bengaluru resident Girish.

The committee to design the flag is not time-bound, so there is no information on when the recommendations will be out. The state goes to polls in April next year.