The video of the slip was widely shared on social media.
Highlights
- National flag fell to the ground when Amit Shah tried to unfurl it
- Opposition targetted BJP after video of the incident appeared online
- Those who can't handle national flag, how will they run country: Congress
As chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Jai Hind filled the air, BJP chief Amit Shah prepared to unfurl the national flag at the party headquarters in New Delhi on India's 72nd Independence Day. But as soon he pulled the string attached to the post for the hoisting ceremony, the national flag fell to the ground. The BJP chief quickly positioned it and wrapped the ritual with a salute.
However, the video of the glitch soon made it to social media and picked up by the opposition to target the BJP.
The Congress party's official handle shared the video on Twitter and said, "Jo desh ka jhanda nahi sambhal sakte, woh desh kya sambhalenge (those who can't handle the national flag, how will they run the country)".
"Those who dole out certificates of patriotism don't know the right way to sing the national anthem," the tweet added.
But this wasn't the first such incident when the national flag came crashing. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti faced an embarrassing moment in 2016 when the flag she was going to hoist at the Independence Day ceremony fell off the post.
In the photographs of the flag hoisting, she was seen holding the flag up. Two personnel held the flag in their hands till Ms Mufti gave the ceremonial salute in Srinagar.
A few years ago, the flag fell from the pole at the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) office as soon as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik pulled the string.