Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister K S Eshwarappa on Wednesday courted controversy by saying that the saffron flag (Bhagwa) could replace the tricolour as the national flag in the future.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Eshwarappa said the saffron flag could indeed become the national flag in a hundred, two hundred or even five hundred years from now. "Didn't Rama and Maruthi sport the saffron flag on their chariots centuries ago? The same could be possible in the future, who knows? Didn't people laugh at us earlier when we said we would construct Ram Mandir in Ayodhya? Haven't we achieved it today?" he said.
They would also hoist the Saffron flag at the Red Fort, he hinted without completing his sentence. "We will hoist the Saffron flag everywhere. Today or tomorrow, India will become a Hindu nation. Even at Red Fort..." he said.
He was, however, quick to add that the tricolour was the national flag as of now and anyone who didn't respect it was a traitor.
Eshwarappa was responding to KPCC President D K Shivakumar's allegations that students hoisted saffron flag by replacing the tricolour, in the Government First Grade College in Shivamogga. "It's a lie. The tricolour was not replaced. If someone replaces it and hoists the saffron flag, it is a crime. But that's not what transpired here," he said, calling Shivakumar a "liar".
Alleging that the Congress was creating unnecessary Hindu-Muslim conflict, Eshwarappa said the "No Hijab" rule applied only to educational institutions which insisted on uniforms. "Anywhere else, anyone can wear what they wish. Who is stopping them?" he asked. As for allegations that the BJP leaders were distributing saffron stoles to students, Eshwarappa asserted that he was free to distribute however many stoles he wanted and he didn't need Shivakumar's permission for it.
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