Tamil Nadu minister calls for separate state flag
BJP leader Vinoj P Selvam warned that the demand for a state flag could foster a separatist mindset.
Tamil Nadu Public Works and Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna has proposed the creation of a state flag that would hold status equal to the National Flag, according to reports by India Today and The Pioneer.
Arjuna suggested that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay should lead the initiative by hoisting the flag. He proposed that the flag be flown at every home and raised on July 18, Tamil Nadu Day, or on November 1.
BJP leader Vinoj P Selvam criticised the proposal on X, stating that Tamil identity does not require a separate symbol to be recognised. Selvam claimed the rhetoric creates a divide by presenting Tamil and Indian identities as competing loyalties.
The minister's comments revive a 1970 proposal by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. That design included a grey background with the Indian Tricolour in the upper-left corner and a temple-tower emblem.
In 2018, the Union Home Ministry informed Parliament that the Constitution contains no provision for a separate state flag. Current guidelines also prohibit flying another flag from the same masthead as the National Flag.
Separately, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated his government would discuss the official recognition of the Kannada flag in the Cabinet and during the upcoming Belagavi legislature session.