Siddaramaiah unveils new tricolour flag for Karnataka

Bengaluru : The Karnataka Government on Thursday unveiled a new tricolour flag for the state.

The state flag - Nada Dwaja in Kannada - has been approved by the state cabinet and now, this will be sent to the Union home ministry for approval.

If Home Ministry approves the flag, then Karnataka will become the second state to have a different flag after Jammu and Kashmir.

"There was always a debate that the state needed a separate flag. All Kannadigas aspired for this as well. The state government did not join in this debate, but also took a historic decision to get a state flag," Siddaramaiah said after he unveiled the flag.

The newly unveiled flag sports three colours - yellow, white and red with a state emblem in the middle.

The new flag is also an attempt to corner the BJP in the state, which has, in the past, not favoured such a move and dubbed it an effort that goes against national sentiments and also a diversionary tactic by Siddaramaiah.