Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said his government's decision to design a flag for the state had nothing to do with the 2018 assembly polls.
"Elections are due in April-May, not now or tomorrow or next month. If the BJP wants to oppose it, let them openly state Karnataka should not have a flag," the CM said in response to the BJP's criticism that it's a politically driven decision in an election year.
TOI reported on Tuesday that Karnataka has formed a committee to design a state flag and submit a report on its legal sanctity. For the sake of politics should the principle of `One Nation One Flag' be altered?" BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra tweeted on Tuesday. Siddaramaiah said the BJP always makes false allegations.
Former minister Shobha Karandlaje told TOI: "The BJP has always fought for 'one nation, one flag'. Only because a few pro-Kannada organizations write a letter, the CM has, without taking into consideration anything else, formed this committee. The BJP will oppose the flag."
Siddaramaiah said the Constitution does not prohibit states from having a flag, adding: "Has BJP come across any such provision?" Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who had earlier told TOI there cannot be two flags in India, said on Tuesday: "It is a sensitive issue. I've nothing to comment." The BJP government led by Gowda had, in 2012, decided against the flag. Another former CM HD Kumaraswamy, of JD(S), said the government was diverting the attention from other issues the state is facing.
Author Ramachandra Guha said love for one's region and country is completely compatible as India is a union of states. "(The United States of) America is the most patriotic country in the world and every state in America has a flag. I would welcome Kerala, Odisha, TN, Gujarat and all of them having a flag.Some years ago, I gave a talk at a Belgian university. The town hall there had the flag of the city, the flag of the region, the flag of the country and the flag of the European Union all hoisted," he said.
He added that a manic uniformity that "everybody must do puja to one symbol is actually a sign of Hinduism becoming like Islam or Christianity (only one god), which is absurd".
Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge said: "Nothing wrong in having a distinct identity within the legal framework."
"Elections are due in April-May, not now or tomorrow or next month. If the BJP wants to oppose it, let them openly state Karnataka should not have a flag," the CM said in response to the BJP's criticism that it's a politically driven decision in an election year.
TOI reported on Tuesday that Karnataka has formed a committee to design a state flag and submit a report on its legal sanctity. For the sake of politics should the principle of `One Nation One Flag' be altered?" BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra tweeted on Tuesday. Siddaramaiah said the BJP always makes false allegations.
Former minister Shobha Karandlaje told TOI: "The BJP has always fought for 'one nation, one flag'. Only because a few pro-Kannada organizations write a letter, the CM has, without taking into consideration anything else, formed this committee. The BJP will oppose the flag."
Siddaramaiah said the Constitution does not prohibit states from having a flag, adding: "Has BJP come across any such provision?" Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who had earlier told TOI there cannot be two flags in India, said on Tuesday: "It is a sensitive issue. I've nothing to comment." The BJP government led by Gowda had, in 2012, decided against the flag. Another former CM HD Kumaraswamy, of JD(S), said the government was diverting the attention from other issues the state is facing.
Author Ramachandra Guha said love for one's region and country is completely compatible as India is a union of states. "(The United States of) America is the most patriotic country in the world and every state in America has a flag. I would welcome Kerala, Odisha, TN, Gujarat and all of them having a flag.Some years ago, I gave a talk at a Belgian university. The town hall there had the flag of the city, the flag of the region, the flag of the country and the flag of the European Union all hoisted," he said.
He added that a manic uniformity that "everybody must do puja to one symbol is actually a sign of Hinduism becoming like Islam or Christianity (only one god), which is absurd".
Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge said: "Nothing wrong in having a distinct identity within the legal framework."