Delhi Independence Day Flag Hoisting Dispute

There’s quite a stir happening in Delhi ahead of this year’s Independence Day. With Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal currently in jail over a corruption case, the question of who will hoist the national flag has become complicated.

On August 12, 2024, Gopal Rai, the Minister for General Administration, suggested that Atishi, the Education Minister, should unfurl the flag on behalf of Kejriwal. However, things took a turn when the General Administration Department’s additional chief secretary, Navin Kumar Chaudhary, declared that the Chief Minister’s directive was ‘legally invalid’ because he is in custody.

The situation escalated when the authorities at Tihar Jail informed Kejriwal that his letter asking for Atishi to be authorized to hoist the flag had not been sent due to it being an ‘abuse of privileges’ under Delhi’s prison rules.

As the preparations at Chhatrasal Stadium were being organized, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, was not standing idle. He appointed Kailash Gahlot, the Home Minister, to take on the responsibility of hoisting the national flag during the event, ignoring the earlier plans to have Atishi do it.

This decision is expected to create more tension between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the LG’s office, as both sides seem to have conflicting priorities amid the ongoing leadership crisis.