It's legal, I will have my flag, says Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: The controversy over having a state flag continued to create ripples on Wednesday with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissing suggestions that the move would be considered anti-national and an embarrassment to the Tricolour. 

The opposition BJP however continued to see red with party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa asserting that they were not opposed to a separate flag but did not approve of Siddaramaiah's 'unilateral decision' to form a panel to decide on the flag without consulting opposition leaders.

The CM remained firm on his view that there was no provision in the Constitution which prohibits the state from having its flag or even a state anthem (Nada Geethe) which is sung at government functions. "We have a state anthem, has it in any way affected the national anthem or its status?" he retorted.

With a nine-member committee led by writer and journalist Patil Puttappa constituted to decide on the contours of the flag, the CM said the government will wait for the committee to submit its report before taking a decision.

Law minister T.B. Jayachandra endorsed the CM's stand saying the Acts concerning the National Flag and the flag protocol, are silent on a state having its flag. "It is a grey area, so what's wrong in we having our own flag," he wondered.

BJP president Yeddyurappa however kept the attack going on the Congress government . Asked if Siddaramaiah was politicising the issue ahead of the2018 assembly elections, the former chief minister quipped, “That is for everyone to see. I need not tell.”

BJP: We should have been consulted
The state BJP unit on Wednesday said it was not opposed to a separate state flag but flayed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's 'unilateral decision' to form a panel on the issue without consulting opposition leaders. 

"Our party is not opposed to Karnataka having a separate flag. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has taken a unilateral decision without consulting Opposition leaders," state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters here. 

He, however, also toed the "one nation, one flag" stand of the BJP's central leadership. “There is no provision in the Constitution for any state to have its separate flag. We are one nation, one flag," he added. 

Asked if Siddaramaiah is politicising the issue ahead of 2018 assembly elections, Yeddyurappa said, "That is for everyone to see. I need not tell." 

BJP spokesperson Ashwathnarayana demanded a wider discussion with constitutional experts. He criticized Siddaramaiah for discussing the flag issue on a public platform instead of discussing it within the framework of the Constitution and with experts. 

Before deciding on the flag, a committee has to be formed consisting of constitutional experts and leaders of all political parties, Mr Ashwathnarayana said. 

Instead of taking all leaders into confidence, Siddaramaiah wanted to make the flag issue a political agenda. This was the reason why the BJP opposed the manner in which the  government handled the flag issue. 

He also brought to the fore the fact that Kannada Sahithya Parishath has its own flag and wondered what the  fate of the  Parishath flag would be if the  government adopted its flag.  Even then CM D.V. Sadananda Gowda had ordered hoisting of the  Kannada flag on government offices, but that order was not implemented as the Centre did not give its permission.