Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 27: Senior BJP and KP leader and incharge Department of Political Affairs and Feed Back J&K BJP, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo has taken serious exception to arrest of the BJP activists from Kupwara who were on way to Lal Chowk, Srinagar to hoist the National Flag on Accession Day yesterday.
In a letter to DG Police, Dilbagh Singh he said as the October 26 was a special day, the day of accession, which has been recognized by the Government as a public holiday as well, the hoisting of the National Flag was no offence regardless of the place or venue in the Union Territory. The police contingent present in the area not only dissuaded them from doing so but also put the members of the group under detention, which is quite astonishing, he added.
Instead the police present there should have facilitated the Flag hoisting and also provided the group the necessary security required on the venue, he said.
Similarly, a young man who wanted to hoist the National Flag atop PDP office at Gandhinagar, Jammu was also badly treated by the Police and disallowed to hoist the Flag, he added.
The National Flag hoisting by a citizen constitutes not only a national duty but also a fundamental right for any citizen of the country. In case, the police or law enforcing authorities take measures to stop a citizen from hoisting the National Flag peacefully anywhere in the Union Territory, it comprises infringing one’s rights. The police is duty bound to protect him or her rather stopping the citizen from doing so, he added.
Chrungoo said the role of the police in this connection raised stark questions in the changed socio-political context when the police said that it was done to maintain law and order. Does hoisting of the National Flag breach law and order in the UT…..? The argument given is not only weak but also absurd, he added.
He said it is time for the administration to take a clear view in this regard and issue fresh guidelines, otherwise it sends a bad and wrong message which obviously will deserve condemnation by all.
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