Chennai: “Is carrying the national flag in a procession a sinful act?” wondered Justice V Lakshminarayanan of the Madras high court. He also questioned whether Coimbatore, where permission for a procession was denied by the local administration, was part of Pakistan or Afghanistan, as restrictions were imposed against carrying the national flag during a procession.The court made the observations while hearing a plea moved by J Rameshkumar, a BJP functionary, challenging the denial of permission for an Independence Day rally on Aug 15.On Friday, when the plea came up for hearing, the Coimbatore police submitted that permission had been denied because the petitioner had sought to conduct the procession on a major road.The proposed route was a crowded area with schools, colleges and a bus stop, and permission could not be granted due to possibility of law-and-order issues, the police said. Permission was however granted for processions at 12 designated spots in Coimbatore, and it was clarified that the govt was not preventing anyone from carrying the national flag.Recording the submissions, the court said, “Freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran died holding the national flag during the freedom struggle. In such a country, why should there be a restriction on carrying the national flag?”The court then pointed out that permission had earlier been denied for a procession by the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) and now for the BJP and questioned whether permission was being granted only to the ruling TVK.The court then directed the police to grant permission for the rally on Aug 18 from ARC junction in Mettupalayam Road to Chinthamani from 4pm to 7pm.
