‘National flag used as decoration’: Union minister accuses Kejriwal of violating flag code
India

‘National flag used as decoration’: Union minister accuses Kejriwal of violating flag code

In letter to Delhi L-G Anil Baijal, Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel says the national flags on display in Delhi CM Kejriwal’s recent Covid briefings don't adhere to the flag code.

   
File photo of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at one of his Covid briefings | PTI

File photo of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal | PTI

New Delhi: Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel Friday accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of violating the Flag Code. 

In a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Patel pointed to Kejriwal’s recent Covid briefings, and said the green stripes on the flags displayed behind the CM appear to be enlarged in comparison to the white ones. 

News agency ANI quoted the minister as saying that he has also written to Kejriwal in this regard. 

“Whenever Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a televised briefing, my attention is often drawn to the national flag behind his chair… It appears to be different from our pride and its constitutional form,” he wrote in the letter. 

“It appears that the national flag has been used as decoration. The middle white portion appears to be reduced and it seems like the green part has been added to it, which doesn’t comply with the rules in Section 1.3 of the Indian Flag Code laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

Section 1.3 of the Indian Flag Code states, “The National Flag shall be rectangular in shape. The ratio of the length to the height of the Flag shall be 3:2.”

Patel added, “I did not expect such an act, knowingly or unknowingly, from the honourable chief minister.”

ThePrint reached AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha for a comment by text message, but didn’t receive a response until the time of publishing this report.

In the backdrop

Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal has been holding regular briefings on the Covid situation in the national capital.

The backdrop of these briefings are two Indian flags with their staffs criss-crossing each other.


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