BJP Politician Stokes Controversy as He Says Saffron Flag May One Day Replace India's Tricolor

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Indian flag - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.02.2022
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The remarks come amid reports that Indian students in a Karnataka government school hoisted a saffron flag, deemed to be a symbol of Hindus, instead of the official tricolor.
A Bharatiaya Janata Party politician and minister in India's Karnataka state, Raj K.S. Eshwarappa, has stoked controversy by saying Bhagwa Dhwaj (Hindus' saffron flag) may become country's national flag in the future.
Answering journalists' question on whether the saffron flag can be hoisted on Delhi's Red Fort, Eshwarappa said: "Not today, someday in the future".
"People used to laugh at one point when we said Ram Mandir (Lord Ram's temple) will be constructed in Ayodhya (a city in Uttar Pradesh state). Aren't we constructing it now? In the same way, sometime in the future after 100 or 200 or 500 years, Bhagwa Dhwaj (the Hindus' saffron coloured flag) may become the national flag. I don't know," Karnataka's state minister explained.
However, the State Minister also added that the Indian national flag is the tricolour at present, and everyone should respect it.
Eshwarappa's remark came amid allegations that students in the Government-run First Grade College in Shivamogga District removed the tricolour and hoisted a saffron flag on the school premises during an anti-hijab protest on Tuesday.
Some reports also claimed that a saffron flag was hoisted, replacing the national flag. However, police refuted those reports.
The incident triggered violence in the area, and police were deployed amidst the chaos. In addition, stone-pelting and a baton charge incident also reportedly took place.
Police detained 20 students as a precautionary measure and imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which restricts the assembly of four or more people in a public area, for 8 February and 9 February.
Karnataka, a state in southern India, is witnessing protest after Muslim girls were barred from entering the classroom wearing Muslim headscarf or 'Hijab' in Karnataka's Udupi district. The protest has now spread in many cities across the country.
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