Saffron flag may become national flag in future, will be hoisted at Red Fort: Karnataka Minister

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 10 : Sparking a controversy, Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa on Wednesday said that in the future, the saffron flag could become the national flag and it will be unfurled at the Red Fort.
"Not today but someday in the future maybe after 100, 200 or 500 years, the saffron flag may become the national flag. People used to laugh over the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Are we not building the temple now? Now Hindutva is being discussed in the country," Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa told mediapersons.
"The tricolour has been constitutionally accepted as the national flag and it should be respected. Those who do not respect it will be anti-nationals. 'Hindu dharma' will prevail in the country sometime in the future. Then we will hoist the saffron flag at Red Fort," he added.
Eshwarappa's remarks came at a time when there is a ruckus in Karnataka over the issue of wearing a Hijab in colleges. Amid the hijab controversy, the Karnataka government on Thursday extended the closure of schools and colleges till the end of this week.
The Hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district in Karnataka when some students alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students were allegedly denied entry to college wearing hijab by Muslim women earlier this month.