Members of Rajya Sabha will be able to wear the national flag in the form of a lapel pin in the House from the upcoming Monsoon Session in July as, breaking away from the past practice of banning MPs from wearing badges, the Upper House has now decided to permit it.
Rajya Sabha Secretariat said in a statement that members of the Upper House have now been permitted to wear such a lapel pin in the House as recommended by the General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha.
In its meeting held on May 3, the committee had made this recommendation with which Chairman Md. Hamid Ansari concurred.
The panel had made the recommendation after deliberations over the suggestion of Congress member Vijay Jawaharlal Darda of allowing MPs to wear national flag badge in the House.
The convention and a ruling from the Chair in 1985 disallows Upper House members from wearing any badge, including the National Flag as lapel pin, in the House.
In 2010, the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha had made an exception and allowed members to wear tricolour as a lapel pin in order to honour the national flag.
