Faisal Fareed
Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow
Lucknow, Aug 23: A sanitary ware company branding its products with ‘Hindustan’ logo.
A Kochi-based Kunnath Pharmaceuticals company is using President of India’s picture.
In UP and Maharashtra NGO with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) name is fooling people.
These are some of the incidents where the companies do not hesitate in misusing national emblem, pictures and names of government organisations for their products. The latest being use of term ‘Sansad’ (parliamentary) by a realty firm Gaursons Hitech
Infrastructure and Panchsheel Buildtech company in several states.
Taking strong note of rising number of such incidents, Centre has asked state governments to take action against the use of such nomenclature. Consumer Affairs Minister KV Thomas replying to a question in Parliament on Tuesday directed the state governments and union territories to take strong action against the improper misuse of 'Hindustan' on sanitary wares and ‘Sansad’ by the real estate company.
"All the state governments, union territories and ministries and departments of the central government have been requested to take action to stop the use of 'Hindustan’ on sanitary wares immediately," Thomas said.
During past three years more than a dozen such complaints have been received by the ministry which are concerned with the violation of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
In 2010, during the IPL tournament a PIL was filed with the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court against the realty major DLF for using the logo 'DLF Building India' at both ends of the pitch right in the centre of the stadium during IPL Cricket Matches.
Later the advocates for IPL submitted in the court that DLF had withdrawn the use of 'India' from the field immediately. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has been asked to take action against the misuse of photograph of President of India by Kochi-based Kunnath Pharmaceuticals.
Similar advisory has been sent to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh governments to curb the misuse of the name of National Human Right Commission. In these states an organisation with the name Bhartiya Manwadikar Association using police colours is flauting its logo which is similar to NHRC.