While the entire nation responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call on the eve of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, political parties like CPM and Muslim League have chosen not to change the display pictures on social media to the national flag.
Setting their faces against the national sentiments, both CPM and Muslim League continue to use their own flags and electoral symbols on social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.
As the nation is celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark 75 years of India’s independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to put the Tricolour as the display picture of social media accounts between August 2 and 15. On August 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put ‘tiranga’ as the display picture of his social media accounts and urged people to do the same as part of a collective movement to celebrate the Tricolour.
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of it’s people, culture and achievements. This Mahotsav is dedicated to the people of India who have not only been instrumental in bringing India thus far in its evolutionary journey but also hold within them the power and potential to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of activating India 2.0, fuelled by the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Even though the entire nation has responded to the call with unprecedented vigour and enthusiasm, the Islamist-Communist parties chose to snub it.
While CPM continues to showcase its red flag with sickle and hammer as profile picture, the Indian Union Muslim League chose not to replace its ‘ladder’ symbol with the national flag.
The IUML was founded in 1948 in Madras, by the remnant Indian Members of the All India Muslim League, which pushed the undivided India into a bloody partition. Led by M Mohammed Ismail, the new Muslim party by the name of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was formed “to advance ..[the interests] of Muslims in the Union”.
The undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) had raised the slogan “Ye Azadi Jhutha Hain” (This freedom is false) when India got independence and observed the day as ‘Black Day’. The Communists, who were pro-Chinese during the war, formed the CPM in 1964, following the India-China war. Since its formation, the CPM never celebrated the Independence day at its offices across the country. In 2021, the CPM hoisted the national flag at its offices in Bengal and other states for the first since the party’s formation.
