New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) Thrilled that the home ministry has given him permission to fly the tricolour at night provided it was illuminiated, Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal Thursday said he planned to light up five mammoth-sized national flags on huge flagpoles in Haryana.
"I have put up five giant-sized flags on poles that are over 200 feet high. These will be the biggest flags in the world," Jindal told IANS.
"Five huge flags have been put up in Ladwa and Kaithal that are in my constituency, Kurukshetra. The others are in Hissar and Sonepat. It certainly is a great feeling and now I don't have lower the flag every evening," he added.
The ministry took the decision after Jindal filed an application in June seeking instructions for flying massive national flags at night. He cited the examples of countries like Malaysia, Jordan, Mexico and Turkey, where massive flags are flown at night.
Under the Flag Code, established in 1950, the tricolour can only be flown from sunrise to sunset.
In its response, the home ministry said flagpoles could be installed provide there was adequate lighting with backup in cases of power failure and that the flags be switched if they happened to get damaged.
"It is a symbolic victory. Flying the national triclour is a very poignant movement for me. It transcends all political and religious affliations," said Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle for flying the national flag as a fundamental right for every citizen.
The Supreme Court ruled that it was the fundamental right of every Indian to display the national flag in a dignified manner.
Jindal's fascination with the tricolour began during a visit to the US in 1990, where he studied for a master's degree in business management in Dallas.
One of the first things he noticed was the ever-present fluttering of the American flag all over the country. The Americans even draped the Star Spangled Banner on their clothes.
"The flag should imbue in us a sense of national honour, pride and sacrifice," Jindal maintained.