The BJP on Wednesday criticised Opposition parties for “politicising” Har Ghar Tiranga programme and skipping Tiranga rally from Red fort to Parliament on Wednesday. The rally was organised by the Culture Ministry and flagged off by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.
The Tiranga Bike Rally began from the Red Fort to Parliament here in the morning. Speaking at the Tiranga rally event, Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi said, “The message of the Tiranga rally is simple, we want people to know about the unsung heroes who gave their lives for this country and get inspired by them. So that people understand their own potential and work for the country keeping in mind ‘how the country should be in the next 25 years’”.
She slammed Opposition parties for saying that the Government was “imposing tricolour”. “Tricolour is not something to be imposed, but it’s something that we are proud of,” she said.
Addressing a Press conference later, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was unfortunate that the Opposition parties were making tricolour an issue of politics.
He said tricolour was not something that belongs to the BJP only but to the entire country. Patra said all parties were invited to the rally as it was not a “party programme” but “it is unfortunate that it is being politicised”.
“On the 75th anniversary of Independence when we are approaching “amrit kal” of 25 years, it is the Government which has taken on its own to have tricolour in 20 crore houses in the country”, he said.
The BJP leader said it would have been good if all the Opposition parties had participated in this national effort.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed his display picture on his social account to the national flag, other senior BJP leaders, including Union Ministers and Chief Ministers, followed suit.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were among a large number of party members who switched their profile pictures on Twitter to the national flag.