Referring to campaigns such as the โTiranga Yatraโ and โHar Ghar Tirangaโ, the editorial accused the BJP of attempting to project itself as the principal guardian of the national flag.
The extensive publicity surrounding these programmes, it said, created the impression that the tricolour was being introduced or celebrated in the country for the first time.
Saamana sought to contrast the BJPโs current nationalist campaigns with the historical role of its ideological predecessors. It claimed that the organisations from which the ruling party emerged had remained distant from the freedom struggle and had previously displayed little attachment to the national flag.
The editorial alleged that the BJP was using the emotion associated with Independence Day, the tricolour and โVande Mataramโ to expand its political outreach and reinforce its patriotic credentials.
It said those leading such events today had neither participated in the freedom movement nor faced imprisonment, police action or other sacrifices associated with the struggle against British rule.
Thousands of freedom fighters had carried the tricolour and marched to their deaths while singing โVande Mataramโ, the editorial said, while those now organising large nationalist campaigns had remained silent during that period.
The party argued that the BJPโs intensified focus on patriotic events had coincided with growing political pressure and public protests, including demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.
It also recalled that some of Modiโs supporters had described the formation of his government in 2014 as the โreal dawnโ of Indian independence.
With public sentiment now changing, the editorial claimed, those who had once treated the national flag as little more than an official formality were spending heavily on rallies, cut-outs and nationwide campaigns to strengthen their political image.
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