New Delhi, October 2026: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unfurled a 270-foot-long Indian national flag in the national capital on Friday, with party leaders and workers carrying it in a peaceful march from North Avenue towards Rashtrapati Bhavan despite a heavy police presence.
The march was led by AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj, along with MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar and other party workers. The procession proceeded from North Avenue to Rashtrapati Bhavan before returning to North Avenue, where it concluded.
Bharadwaj said the true meaning of independence was that every Indian citizen should be free to unfurl the national flag anywhere in the country. He argued that generations of Indians had fought for this freedom and questioned why any government should prevent citizens from displaying the Tricolour peacefully.
“Our ancestors secured independence after facing bullets. Who is the government to tell us whether we can unfurl the national flag or not?” he asked, criticising what he described as restrictions on citizens’ peaceful activities.
Bharadwaj alleged that the authorities had approached the court over the proposed flag-waving demonstrations on Thursday. According to him, the court questioned why people should be prevented from waving the national flag. He further claimed that the police had threatened to close Connaught Place and Central Park in response to the planned gatherings.
He accused the government of being apprehensive about young people displaying the national flag and maintained that citizens should not require permission from the government or police to express their patriotism peacefully.
Drawing a comparison with the freedom struggle, Bharadwaj said Indians had opposed British restrictions on displaying the national flag and should retain the same freedom today. He asked whether unfurling the Tricolour in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan could be considered wrongdoing.
Responding to questions about possible losses to traders and businesses in Connaught Place during the festive season, Bharadwaj blamed the government for the closure of shops and restaurants. He claimed that young visitors brought customers to restaurants and helped increase sales, and alleged that restrictions had harmed local businesses.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha said the Tricolour represented the country’s honour and pride and argued that displaying it should not create any disturbance. He questioned why anyone would object to the national flag and said the party had taken it out in a demonstration to defend its significance.
Kuldeep Kumar, the party’s Kondli MLA, said unfurling the national flag was a constitutional right. He described India as a country belonging to its youth, farmers, women and all citizens who believed in the Constitution and the Tricolour.
Kumar also criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that it had not flown the national flag at its headquarters for 52 years after independence. He said neither the police nor central investigative agencies could prevent young people from displaying the flag.
The AAP leaders maintained that their march was a peaceful assertion of the right to display the national flag. Their remarks came amid heightened security and restrictions surrounding planned flag-waving demonstrations in the capital.
