Pingali's relatives criticise MHA, urge to announce designer of tricolour

VIJAYAWADA: Relatives of Pingali Venkayya, historians and others criticised the Union Home ministry on Wednesday for giving “improper” information to an RTI query filed by DC regarding the designer of the national flag.

Historians and members of the Sri Pingali Venkayya Charitable trust condemned officials of the ministry of Home Affairs and said that the national flag, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 July, 1947, had in fact been adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1921. It had been designed by Venkayya.

“Pingali Venkayya had designed the flag for the Congress at Victoria Museum in Vijayawada on March 31, 1921, and it was adopted by the then AICC general body on the same day in the city in its meeting,” said Mr Turlapati Kutumba Rao, honorary chairman of Sri Pingali Venkayya Charitable Trust.

He further said that Mahatma Gandhi had announced that the tricolor was adopted by the AICC as its official flag made by Venkayya in an open meeting at Vijayawada on 1 April, 1921.

Mr Rao asked if the government didn’t know who designed the national flag, why had it released a postal stamp on Pingali Venkayya? He also demanded that the government should announce the name of the designer of the Indian National flag, whoever it may be, if not Venkayya.

Ms Pingali Suseela, grand-daughter of Venk-ayya stated that it was history and everyone kn-ew that the flag had been designed by Venkayya in 1921 and adopted by Mahatma Gandhi for the National Congress. Later on, it was adopted with small changes by the Co-nstituent Assembly in 1947.