The Congress-led Karnataka government has constituted a nine-member committee to design a “State” flag and submit a report on giving it legal sanctity. Just months ahead of assembly elections in 2018, the move marks a departure from the stand Karnataka had taken in 2012, and comes amid rising sentiments against the NDA's reported move to impose Hindi in the state.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the plan, denying it was made with an eye on elections. “Is there any provision in the Constitution which prohibits a state from having its own flag? Have you come across any such provision in the Constitution? Did the BJP come across such a provision?” he asked. Karnataka Minister for Kannada and Culture Umashri said, “This is not a political gimmick. This is respecting the sentiments of the people. Why is it wrong? Is making a committee to study this wrong? Doesn't the government have the right?”
The demand for a separate flag is not new with Karnataka. Five years ago, when the BJP was in power, it had opposed a separate flag, rejecting a suggestion that the red and yellow flag used in the state for cultural and other events be declared the state's official flag. It had told the state High Court that a state flag would be against the unity and integrity of the nation. A Bengaluru-based lawyer, Alok Prasana Kumar said, “There is no provision either in the Constitution or in the Flag Code that prohibits a state from having a separate official flag. If such a code is planned then it will need the assent of the President. This is because the government will then have to consider the relation of this flag with the national flag.”
The June 6 government order has nominated principal secretary of the Kannada and culture department as chairperson of the committee, which will include secretaries of law, home, parliamentary affairs and personnel and administrative reforms departments as members.
