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Action sought against BJP for misusing national flag

The Rashtriya Mukti Morcha, a non governmental organisation, has sought criminal action against the Bharatiya Janata Party for an alleged misuse of the national flag on its Web site on the Internet.

In a letter to the chief election commissioner and Delhi police commissioner, RMM president Ravinder Kumar claimed that the BJP had used the national flag in its poll campaign on the Internet in violation of the Indian National Flag Code.

As per the law, who ever uses the national flag without authority or for political gain is liable to be booked. The BJP web site has brought an insult to the Indian flag under section two of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act 1971, Kumar said.

''I am making this complaint so that a criminal case can be registered against the BJP, the Puretech India Ltd (the designers of the site) and other unknown persons. The EC is empowered to take stringent action against the accused as it amounts to a violation of the Common Code of Conduct during election. Also, it shows their disrespect to the Constitution of India and the Indian national flag,'' he said.

The RMM, for the record, was the petitioner in the public interest litigation which resulted in the Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet against former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and several other top Congress and Opposition leaders in the multi-million rupee JMM bribery case.

UNI

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