Tamil Nadu Congress to hold tricolour marches, flays BJP for 'attempt to appropriate' national flag

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President K Selvaperunthagai on Sunday tasked his party office-bearers with holding tricolour marches on two-wheelers and through padayatras and hit out at the BJP for what he described as an attempt to 'appropriate' the national flag by conducting Tiranga yatras.

Selvaperunthagai said no force including the BJP can break the bond the Congress party has with the tricolour and everyone has a right to hoist the national flag on Independence Day and celebrate.

In a statement, the Congress party leader said the BJP is making attempts to appropriate the tricolour by holding tricolour rallies in states, which are not a usual practice, but based on PM Narendra Modi's recent appeal.

From August 12 to 15, Selvaperunthagai said district Congress committee presidents should organise 'tricolour motorcycle rallies' in their respective district headquarter towns.

In villages and talukas, padayatras should be conducted by holding the national flag. In such celebratory events, the connect and bond the Congress party has with the national flag should be explained to the people by tracing the freedom movement, the role played by Gandhiji and the party's pivotal role.

The TNCC leader alleged that the RSS, the parent organisation of the BJP had not hoisted the national flag for 52 years. Only on August 15, 1947, and on January 26, 1950, the national flag was hoisted at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, he said.

After a gap of 52 years, the national flag was hoisted by the RSS only on January 26, 2001, Selvaperunthagai claimed. Therefore, the RSS boycotted and insulted the national flag and now the BJP is attempting to appropriate it and it is a 'conspiracy'.

On August 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to make "Har Ghar Tiranga" campaign a memorable mass movement. He also replaced his profile picture with the national flag and urged them to do the same. Following this, the BJP announced Tiranga yatras (Tricolour marches) from August 11 to 14.

Reacting to Modi's appeal Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh had said in a post on X on Saturday, "The non-biological Prime Minister is attempting to appropriate this national symbol, one that his ideological kin have long disowned, because his organisation has no history and symbols that India can accept as its own."

BJP's national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit back and had said, "The Congress is anti-Bharat, anti-Tiranga. Anti-armed forces and anti-citizens. They have nothing in mind but destruction, incitement and anarchy."