Lawyer moves CEC seeking suspension of Cong flag, emblem

Cuttack:Orissa high court lawyer Sabyasachi Mohapatra has written to the chief election commissioner (CEC) seeking the suspension of the Indian National Congress (INC) flag and emblem, alleging that they closely resemble the National Flag of India and violate constitutional and statutory provisions.In a memorandum dated October 29, 2025, titled “Grievance and Prayer for Suspension of the Indian National Congress Party Flag and Emblem Due to Resemblance with the National Flag and Contradictions to Constitutional and National Spirit,” Mohapatra urged the Election Commission to act under Article 51A of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.“The continued use by a political party of a flag so similar in colour, ratio and pattern directly violates the dignity of the Tiranga,” the memorandum stated, arguing that the INC’s tricolour—with saffron, white and green horizontal stripes and a hand symbol—was “visually and chromatically identical” to the National Flag.Citing Mahatma Gandhi’s caution in Young India (1921) — “The flag of India should not belong to any particular community or party, but to the whole nation” — Mohapatra argued that the Congress had “contradicted the Gandhian warning that the national flag must never be reduced to a tool of party propaganda.”

Referring to the Flag Code of India, 2002 and the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, the lawyer said such use “misleads the public and diminishes the exclusive sanctity of the national symbol.”Tracing the flag’s history, the memorandum pointed out that the Congress’s pre-Independence flag, with three horizontal bands and a spinning wheel, had directly inspired the National Flag adopted in 1947.

However, Mohapatra said the party “cannot now justify continued political usage of a flag visually and chromatically identical to the National Flag.”Mohapatra urged the CEC to “suspend the use of the present flag and emblem of the Indian National Congress pending detailed examination” and to “direct the party to submit within 90 days a fresh, clearly distinguishable flag and emblem design.”He also sought a general directive to all political parties ensuring that their flags and symbols are “distinct from national symbols to uphold respect for the Tiranga.”Congress leaders dismissed the complaint as illogical. “It is an absurd, baseless and unfounded proposition regarding the Congressflagthat has been there since the time of independence. It is a brazen attempt to only draw attention,” remarked Suresh Mohapatra, a senior Congress leader and former president Cuttack district Congress committee.