NEW DELHI: Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel has hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of using the national flag as a "decoration" during televised media addresses.
In a letter to Kejriwal, the Union minister alleged that the flag seen behind the chief minister during his press briefings appears to be in violation of the flag code.
"It appears that the national flag has been used for decoration. The white portion in the centre appears to have been reduced and the green portion added to it, which is not in tune with provisions of the Indian Flag Code specified by the Ministry of Home Affairs," Patel wrote in the letter.
"I do not expect such an act, knowingly or unknowingly, from the honourable chief minister," he added.
A copy of the letter has also been marked to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
Patel also sought to draw the chief minister's attention towards section 2(ix) of The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which states that the flag should not be used to decorate a speaker's stage.
Section 2.2(1) states that the status of the flag should be respectful, he added.
"Being a resident of India and holding the post of the proud chief minister of a state, everyone expects you to maintain the honour and the dignity of the Tricolour, a symbol of national pride," Patel wrote in the letter.