Saffron flag may become national flag in future, respect the tricolor for now: BJP leaders
Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa on Wednesday claimed that the ‘saffron flag’ could become the national flag sometime in the future. However, he said that the tricolor is now the national flag, and it should be respected by all.
Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa said that hundreds of years ago there were saffron flags on the chariots of Sri Ramachandra and Maruti. Was there a tricolor flag in our country then? Now it (tricolor) is fixed as our national flag, it should be respected, there is no question about it.
Responding to a question from journalists whether the saffron flag can be hoisted at the Red Fort, he said, “Not today, someday in future. Today, ‘Hindu thought’ and ‘Hindutva’ are being discussed in the country. People used to laugh when we used to say that Ram Mandir will be built in Ayodhya, are we not building it now? Similarly at some future time, after 100 or 200 or 500 years, the saffron flag may become the national flag. I don’t know. ” He further said that now that the tricolor has been constitutionally accepted as the national flag, it should be respected and those who do not respect it will be traitors.
He further said that we are the people who hoist the saffron flag, not today but in future sometime Hindu religion will come in this country, at that time we will hoist the saffron flag on the Red Fort, because right now the tricolor is our national flag and we all respect it.
Eshwarappa was responding to claims by state Congress president DK Shivakumar that students hoisted the saffron flag instead of the tricolor at the Government First Grade College in Shivamogga during an anti-hijab protest on Tuesday. Terming Shivakumar’s claims as false, Eshwarappa called it an attempt to create communal hatred between Hindus and Muslims. He said that “DK Shivakumar is a liar. Yes, the saffron flag was hoisted there, but the national flag was not lowered. The saffron flag can be hoisted anywhere, but it has not, never happened and never will be by lowering the national flag.” The national flag was not removed, only the flag was used.”
Shivamogga College officials and police officials have also clarified that the national flag was not lowered to raise the saffron flag. He said, the pillar was empty, some people put up a saffron flag, later they removed it.
