National Flag hoisted upside down in JD(U)’s Patna office, matter reaches High Court

The controversy over hoisting the National Flag upside down on Republic Day at the party office of the ruling Janata Dal-United in Patna is fast gaining momentum. A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in Patna High Court against the party’s state president Vashishth Narayan Singh. The petition has been filed by a senior advocate of Patna High Court, Manibhushan Pratap Sengar.

According to Sengar, hoisting the national flag upside down is a serious matter and under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2005, this is a punishable crime and there is a provision of 3 years of imprisonment and fine.

Sengar argued if a common man commits a small mistake, then an FIR is registered against him. This is a matter of insulting the honour of the National Flag and it has been committed by none other than the ruling party’s Bihar state president, who represents the state in Rajya Sabha too. That is why he has demanded strict action against him in this matter.

The main Opposition party, RJD, also slammed the ruling party for this blunder. Chief spokesperson of RJD Shakti Singh Yadav said that this careless act cannot be excused. He said if such kind of mistake was committed by a child then it could be forgiven, but this has been done by the state president of the ruling party who has failed to follow the law. Nitish Kumar and his party have already insulted the mandate by supporting the BJP and now, they have insulted the National Flag too, he added.

The RJD spokesperson demanded that the Chief Minister should sack Vashishth Narayan Singh both from the party and the post on moral ground.

On Republic Day, the party’s state president, Vashishtha Narayan Singh, had hoisted the National Flag upside down at the party’s office in Patna. When other leaders and workers of the party drew attention towards the mistake, he did not pay any heed and started singing the National Anthem. When people in the gathering noticed the flag, it was hurriedly taken down and hoisted again to avoid any controversy but by then it was too late.