State flag panel to have its first meet tomorrow

BENGALURU: The state government’s proposal to have a separate flag for the state, which was put in the backburner, is likely to stir the political pot again as the committee to study the proposal and suggest the design of the flag if the proposal is legally valid, is set to meet here on Thursday.

The issue had earlier raised a stormy debate in July this year and is set to return as the committee headed by Secretary to the Kannada and Culture Department Chakravarthy Mohan is set to have its first meeting. The proposal, which had invited criticism from BJP, was allowed to lose steam after AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi too advocated caution as it ran counter to the party’s national stand of one nation, one flag. Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which has a separate state flag with constitutional sanctity.

The Flag Committee meeting has been convened following CM Siddaramaiah’s assertion in his Rajyotsava address that state had the right to have its own flag. “This is our first meeting and we will discuss on appropriate design for the flag. The meeting will also deliberate on legal provisions and obstacles to have a separate flag. But it is unlikely to finalise the flag and submit its report within a day,” Vishu Kumar, Director of Kannada and Culture Department told Express.