Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government unveiled a yellow-white-and-red flag designed for the state at a meeting on Thursday.
The tri-colour also features state emblem "Ganda Bherunda", a two-headed mythical bird in the middle.
The design of the flag, which was cleared by the state government, will now be send to the central government for approval, following which it will be announced as state flag.
Ahead of the assembly polls which are due in few months, the ruling Congress has linked a separate flag to Kannada pride.
According to a report in NDTV, Mukhyamantri Chandru, a member of the flag committee, said, "There is nothing in the Constitution that says states should not have a flag. So the Siddaramaiah government decided to give some sanctity to the Karnataka state to fix a regional flag. This is no damage to the national flag."
Karnataka previously had an unofficial yellow and red flag. However, following repeated demands for a separate flag, the state government formed a nine-member committee in July 2017 to work upon a design for the official state flag.
The government’s move to form a committee faced sharp criticism from the main opposition BJP, whose leaders, including Shobha Karandlaje, had accused the government of practising divisive politics.
However, the public criticised the BJP over its stand forcing the party to go silent.
Expressing hope that the Centre would give its nod, Chandru said that there would be rules for the use of the state flag.
"I don't think they will reject this. This is what people want with their hearts," he added.
