<p>The Karnataka government has decided not to pursue the proposal, currently before the Centre, seeking a separate flag, which the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime had pushed for. </p>.<p>“The flag committee has said there will be only one flag. The Constitution committee headed by Dr BR Ambedkar directed that we have only one flag - the tricolour. So, there’s only one constitutional flag across India. There may be cultural flags. Karnataka also has a cultural flag. But we are one nation, so we will only think about unity,” Kannada & Culture Minister CT Ravi told reporters on Thursday. </p>.<p>By cultural flag, Ravi was referring to the yellow-red flag widely used to represent the Kannada identity. </p>.<p>In March 2018, just before the Assembly polls, the Congress government had sent a formal proposal to the Centre seeking approval to the Karnataka flag designed by a nine-member expert committee. The Karnataka flag was also tricolour - yellow, white and red - with the state’s emblem ‘Gandaberunda’ at the centre. </p>.<p>In its proposal, the Siddaramaiah regime requested the Centre to include the Karnataka flag in the schedule of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1950.</p>.<p>The move was widely seen as Siddaramaiah’s plan to invoke Kannada pride ahead of the Assembly polls. The BJP had denounced the move as “an election ploy”. </p>.<p>The issue had surfaced in 2012, when the then BJP government headed by D V Sadananda Gowda accorded official status to the yellow-red flag, mandating its hoisting on government buildings, schools and colleges during Rajyotsava.</p>.<p>The notification was withdrawn after the Karnataka High Court raised questions on the legality of states having their own flags.</p>
<p>The Karnataka government has decided not to pursue the proposal, currently before the Centre, seeking a separate flag, which the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime had pushed for. </p>.<p>“The flag committee has said there will be only one flag. The Constitution committee headed by Dr BR Ambedkar directed that we have only one flag - the tricolour. So, there’s only one constitutional flag across India. There may be cultural flags. Karnataka also has a cultural flag. But we are one nation, so we will only think about unity,” Kannada & Culture Minister CT Ravi told reporters on Thursday. </p>.<p>By cultural flag, Ravi was referring to the yellow-red flag widely used to represent the Kannada identity. </p>.<p>In March 2018, just before the Assembly polls, the Congress government had sent a formal proposal to the Centre seeking approval to the Karnataka flag designed by a nine-member expert committee. The Karnataka flag was also tricolour - yellow, white and red - with the state’s emblem ‘Gandaberunda’ at the centre. </p>.<p>In its proposal, the Siddaramaiah regime requested the Centre to include the Karnataka flag in the schedule of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1950.</p>.<p>The move was widely seen as Siddaramaiah’s plan to invoke Kannada pride ahead of the Assembly polls. The BJP had denounced the move as “an election ploy”. </p>.<p>The issue had surfaced in 2012, when the then BJP government headed by D V Sadananda Gowda accorded official status to the yellow-red flag, mandating its hoisting on government buildings, schools and colleges during Rajyotsava.</p>.<p>The notification was withdrawn after the Karnataka High Court raised questions on the legality of states having their own flags.</p>