Rahul Gandhi to accept national flag from dalits after CM Vijay Rupani's refusal

Rahul Gandhi, 47, looks set to take over the reins of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi on December 5.

AHMEDABAD: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who will be on a two-day campaign tour of Gujarat from Friday, will accept a giant national flag made by the dalit community that was presented to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani but which officials reportedly refused to accept citing lack of space.

Gandhi will accept the flag, about 125 feet wide and 83.3 feet high, when he visits the Dalit Shakti Kendra near Sanand on Friday.

The highlight of his two-day tour is the visit to the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), a vocational training institute run by Dalit activists, near Sanand town.

"During his visit, Rahulji will accept a giant national flag, measuring 125 feet in length and 83 feet in height, from Dalit students of the Kendra. He will also address locals and dalits of surrounding areas at the centre," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

According to the founder of the DSK, Martin Macwan, the giant flag was made as part of their movement to end untouchability in the country.

“India’s largest national flag was supposed to be handed over to Rupani, with a request that he take steps to end untouchability practices. But it was not accepted by officials of the Gandhinagar Collectorate on behalf of the Chief Minister saying ‘We don’t have enough space to keep the flag and shall inform once available’,” said Dalit leader Martin Macwan.

“This is the insult of an Indian national flag prepared by Dalits from 10 states,” said Macwan, who heads the Navsarjan Trust, which works for Scheduled Caste community in Gujarat.

"The flag is made out of khadi cloth and has been designed and coloured by 100 Dalit Shakti Kendra students and teachers who worked on it for 25 days...The 125 feet length of the flag signifies 125 years of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's birth anniversary this year," added Macwan.

"We went to Gandhinagar to hand it over to the CM on August 11, he did not meet us. Officials at the Gandhinagar collectorate also refused to accept it, saying they don't have the space to keep it," Macwan said, adding, "It was disheartening because we just wanted to spread the message and wanted to urge the CM to do his bit in Gujarat to end the practice of untouchability. When Rahul Gandhi learned about it, he informed us that he will accept the flag when he will visit the DSK tomorrow," Macwan added.