As part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign that's meant to encourage people to bring the tricolour home and hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence, shopkeepers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag were reportedly told to pay Rs 20 as a “deposit fee” for the flag or face action.
After a purported video of the announcement went viral on social media, a senior district official clarified that the flag campaign was purely voluntary.
The Anantnag chief education officer issued a circular for schools in the district on Friday, 22 July, asking students and teachers to pay the Rs 20 fee. The circular was withdrawn after being shared widely on social media, The Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, the announcement for shopkeepers was made from a vehicle equipped with a loudspeaker in the district in southern Kashmir.
Following this, Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Dr Piyush Singla said on Sunday, 24 July, that this had taken place without his permission and that the announcer has been suspended.
The message announced through the loudspeakers on Saturday, 23 July, was:
“By order of the Anantnag District Administration, every shopkeeper is asked to deposit Rs 20 in the office that gives them trade license. It is possible that one who doesn’t deposit Rs 20 can face action. So to save themselves and complete this formality, they should deposit Rs 20.”
‘Patriotism Cannot Be Imposed’: PDP Chief
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday accused the J&K administration of “forcing” people to buy the national flag for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign while asserting that patriotism comes naturally and cannot be imposed.
Mufti shared a purported video on Twitter in which a public announcement regarding the campaign is being made from a loudspeaker fixed atop a vehicle of the Bijbehara municipality in Anantnag.
"The manner in which J&K admin is forcing students, shopkeepers and employees to pay for national flag to hoist it is as if Kashmir is an enemy territory that needs to be captured. Patriotism comes naturally and cannot be imposed,” Mufti said.
In the announcement in Kashmiri, the locals were reportedly told that "action can be taken against them" if they refuse to join the campaign.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and PTI.)
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