Revenue dept to hoist flag at maidan

Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Thursday said the national flag will be hoisted at the contentious Idgah ground in Chamarajpet on August 15 in what will be an official government function.

Ashoka said this after chairing a meeting with officials of the department.

He said the event will be open to the public and “no religious slogans will be allowed”.

“It is the property of the revenue department, and the flag will be hoisted by the assistant commissioner of Bengaluru North,” he said.

On Congress MLA Zameer Ahmed’s announcement that he would hoist the tricolour on Independence Day, Ashoka said that revenue department officials hoist flags during official government functions.

“For instance, at taluk centers, tahsildars hoist flags and local MLAs only attend the event,” Ashoka pointed out.

The minister said that sloganeering will be prohibited during the flag-hoisting ceremony, except for ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.

The decision was following a meeting with revenue department officials after right-wing groups announced that they would hoist the flag at the venue.

A row recently erupted over the ownership of the ground after the BBMP and Wakf Board both maintained that it belonged to them. The BBMP subsequently announced that the land belonged to the revenue department. The Wakf Board has decided to challenge the same in court.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the government will hold events at the Idgah ground as per the law.

“Irrespective of who says what, the law is important for us. We won’t do anything outside the purview of the law,” he said.