The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday asserted that hoisting of the state flag alongside the national flag is provided in the Constitution of the state and, therefore, no one should try to make an issue out of it nor should there be any controversy.
PDP-BJP government chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar, who is also the state’s education minister, said some people are creating instability in the state over the J&K flag. “Double bench has stayed another order of the court. It (hoisting state flag) is in constitutional scheme. Till it is in the Constitution, nobody can stop it. Everybody has been using it and paying respect to this (state flag),” he was quoted as saying by local news agency KNS.
He added, “It is not that the court has said not to use this (state flag). Some people who are interested in creating confusion and an idea of instability use these court orders to gain political points.” Mr Akhtar saw no controversy whatsoever. “We have been using the flag and we will continue to us it. The national flag has its supreme place and the state flag is also guaranteed in the Constitution (of J&K) as well. So, there is no contradiction in it,” he said. The government statement came after a larger bench of the Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday stayed an earlier order of a single-judge bench allowing the state government to use both the tricolour as well as the state flag on official buildings and vehicles.
On December 26, Justice Hasnain Massodi had in his judgment directed the respondents and all constitutional authorities to adhere to and abide by the mandate and spirit of Section 144 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, J&K Prevention of Insult to State Honour Act, 1979, and Circular No. 13 issued by the state general administration department on March 12, 2015. “Such adherence obviously is to include hoisting of the state flag on buildings housing offices of constitutional authorities and on vehicles used by such authorities,” the court had said.
After the larger bench put the earlier order of the high court on hold, former CM and Opposition National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah took to social networking site Twitter.com to say, “Here’s what I’ll say — so long as J&K is a part of India the two flags will continue to fly & we’ll take pride in it.”
In another tweet, he said, “If Mufti Sayeed can’t defend the state’s dignity & flag from the nefarious plans of his allies he should step down & find someone who can!!!”
Mr Abdullah, responding to criticism his tweet evoked from some of his followers, said the campaign against the practice of hoisting J&K’s own flag atop government buildings and on official vehicles was based on wilful ignorance and propaganda. “I’d rather a tirade based on facts than a campaign based on wilful ignorance & propaganda. Having a state flag accepted & recognised by the Constitutions of India & J&K is NOT Azadi. Jeez!!!!”
In the December 26 judgmnent, Justice Massodi had also said, “It is pertinent to point out that while the Constitution of India does not have specific provisions providing for the national flag, except Article 51A (a) of the Constitution that includes duty to respect the national flag amongst the fundamental duties of every citizen of India, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir has a specific provision — Section 144 — that provides for the state flag.” The judgment further said, “Once Section 144, Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, provides for ‘Flag of the State’, it by implication casts a duty on constitutional authorities and other state functionaries, representing different wings of the state, to show the respect to the state flag it deserves as a symbol of the state.”
However, J&K deputy CM and BJP leader Nirmal Singh had publicly questioned the use of the state flag. He had said earlier this week that no flag could be hoisted at a level equal to that of the national flag and said the matter would be dealt with legally.
On Friday, a division bench of the J&K high court comprising Justice Bansi Lal Bhat and Justice Tashi Rabstan stayed the order of Justice Massodi. Justice Massodi’s judgment was challenged by former inspector-general of police and BJP leader Farooq Khan through a letters patent appeal (LPA). “After hearing arguments for a long time, the division bench stayed the order of the single bench,” Sunil Sethi, counsel for the petitioner, told reporters. He added that a detailed order was awaited.
The J&K flag consists of a deep red field, representing labour, charged with a plough to represent agriculture. It also has three white stripes on the hoist side representing the three geographic regions of the state: Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. It was made the official flag of the state on June 7, 1952 through a resolution passed by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. As per the Delhi Agreement of 1952 between then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and J&K prime minister Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, the tricolour has the same status in J&K as in the rest of India.
Though the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir makes it mandatory to hoist the state flag alongside the national flag at all times, the newly appointed ministers from the BJP in the state’s coalition government in March last year refused to hoist the state flag on their official cars, saying they cannot have any other flag on their vehicles beside the tricolour.
The state government, led by PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, then issued a circular making it compulsory to hoist the state flag along with the national flag, stating, “The state flag has the same sanctity and position as the Union flag has under the Indian Constitution and other statutory provisions.” However, within 20 hours, the state’s GAD department withdrew this circular.
