Karnataka to seek legal status for Kannada flag, CM Shivakumar says on Rajyotsava

Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said his government is committed to giving the yellow-and-red Kannada flag official status as the state flag. He announced that a legal framework would be drawn up so the flag can fly beside the national flag on government buildings.

He was speaking in Bengaluru at the state's 71st Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations, which mark the formation of the state on November 1, 1956, when Kannada-speaking regions were brought together during the linguistic reorganisation of states.

Belagavi session to take it up

Shivakumar said the issue would be discussed in the legislature's winter session at Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi, which runs from November 30 to December 11. A Cabinet decision would follow. According to PTI, he said he would raise the subject for discussion, take a decision in the Cabinet and then introduce a legal framework.

ETV Bharat reported that the Chief Minister said a resolution would be adopted during the session and then sent to the Centre. He said the government is also working on a flag code that would set out the design and where the flag may be hoisted, and that legal experts have been consulted.

The demand is not new. An earlier Cabinet decision on the flag was forwarded to the Union government but did not receive recognition. "We have not received a satisfactory response," Shivakumar said, according to ETV Bharat.

Schools and offices to hoist the flag

The Chief Minister described the flag as a symbol of the self-respect of Kannadigas, comparable to the state anthem, and said it reflects the state's culture, traditions of learning and harmony. ETV Bharat reported that he also said Rajyotsava celebrations would be made mandatory in all schools and that an order was being prepared asking private organisations to hoist the state flag for a month.

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar hoisted the national flag and the Kannada flag at Kanteerava Stadium, reviewed a march past by school students and paid floral tributes to the statue of Bhuvaneshwari at Vidhana Soudha. Minister Madhu Bangarappa and Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh were present.

No immediate reaction from opposition parties to the announcement was reported on Sunday.

Why it matters

Because the earlier Cabinet proposal did not win the Centre's recognition, the Belagavi session is expected to be the next test of the plan. A fresh legislative push would bring questions of regional identity and Centre-state relations back into focus in Karnataka, and how the Union government responds will determine whether the flag can gain formal status.