The State government’s decision to send a proposal to the Union government on having its own flag comes just ahead of Assembly elections in Karnataka. The State Congress has made regional pride a poll plank and has constantly attacked the Centre for not valuing the federal structure.
After unveiling the flag on Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also urged the BJP leaders from Karnataka to help speed up the process of getting approval for the flag from the Centre.
If the Union Home Ministry approves the proposal, Karnataka will be the second State to have a flag of its own after Jammu and Kashmir, which enjoys special status under Article 370 of the Constitution. Though the demand for a separate flag is decades old, it gained momentum only when the government constituted an expert committee to study and submit a report on the design and legal aspects in July, 2017. This followed a representation from journalist-writer Patil Puttappa and social worker Bheemappa Gundappa Gadada of Belgaum to the government.
Interestingly in 2012, the D.V. Sadananda Gowda government had withdrawn its order making hoisting of the “Kannada flag” (red and yellow) compulsory on November 1 in all government offices, schools and colleges following a case in the Karnataka High Court.
The committee set up by the Congress government in 2017 had not met for a long time. But with increased pressure, the members of the committee met thrice and submitted its report after finalising the design a month ago. “Mr. Siddaramaiah, who commenced his political career as chairman of Kannada Kavalu Samiti in the 1980s took the initiative in taking the issue to logical end,” said Prof. Chandrashekar Patil, former chairman, Kannada Development Authority.
