Veteran BJP leader and former National Council member N. Sivarajan has sparked outrage after saying that India’s national flag should be replaced with a saffron one. The remarks were made during a BJP protest held at Anchuvilakku Junction in Palakkad against both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF.
Sivarajan, who is also a councillor in the Palakkad municipality, said political parties should not use flags resembling the national tricolour. He targeted the Congress and NCP, suggesting that Congress should fly a green flag, and even made a controversial remark about the Gandhi family.
“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi don’t even know Indian history. They might as well hoist the Italian flag,” Sivarajan said, referring to Sonia Gandhi’s Italian origin.
The BJP leader also stirred anger by mocking Kerala’s Education Minister V. Sivankutty, calling him “Shavankutty” — a derogatory Malayalam slur, which translates roughly to “corpse child,” used to insult someone as lifeless or incompetent.
His comments triggered protests from both the Congress and the CPI(M). C.V. Satheesh, president of the Palakkad Block Congress Committee, filed a formal complaint with the district police chief.
“This is a direct insult to our national flag. We’ve demanded legal action against Sivarajan, including sedition charges,” Satheesh told reporters.
Opposition leaders and civil rights groups condemned Sivarajan’s statements as “divisive and inflammatory”, warning that such rhetoric can deepen communal tensions.
There is now growing pressure on the BJP leadership to publicly distance itself from Sivarajan’s remarks and to take disciplinary action.
“Replacing the national flag with a saffron one is an idea rooted in extremist ideology,” said a CPI(M) spokesperson. “This cannot be tolerated in a democracy.”
So far, the BJP has not officially responded to the controversy.
