Karnataka flag row: BJP asks Sonia Gandhi to clarify stand

This comes on back of Shashi Tharoor saying he has no objection to two separate flags with set rules

With Congress leader Shashi Tharoor saying he has no objection to states having their own flags, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday asked Congress President Sonia Gandhi to make her stand clear on the same.

"Sonia Gandhi must speak up her position on the issue. They (Congress) cannot take one position in Bengaluru and other [in] New Delhi. We will not allow them to pursue this hypocrisy," BJP leader G  V L Narasimha Rao told ANI.

Rao said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has failed on all fronts of governance and having misgoverned for four and a half years, he is now diverting public attention from his misgovernance.

"His misgovernance is simply not going to go away despite his best effort. People of Karnataka will hand a resounding defeat to him at a time when elections are held," he said.

Earlier in the day, Tharoor asserted that there is no problem in having separate flags for states as long as there are set of rules for that.

"There should be clear rules that flag of state cannot be [a] substitute of [the] national flag and it should be smaller and fly lower. So as long as there are set rules for it I don't see any issue in states having their flags," Tharoor said.

On July 18, the Karnataka government constituted a nine-member committee to submit a report to the state government on the possibility of designing a separate flag for the state.

The Committee was constituted after a representation was submitted to the state government by Journalist-writer and president of Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha, Dharward, Patil Puttappa and social worker Bheemappa Gundappa Gadada.

They had urged the government to design a separate flag for Kannada 'naadu' and accord statutory standing for that.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has defended the demand for a separate flag for the state, asking if there is any provision in the Constitution that prohibits the state from having its own flag.

"Is there any provision in the Constitution that prohibits a state to have its own flag? Did BJP people come across any provision?" Siddaramaiah said.