A complaint of sedition has been filed in Delhi against Indian national Vincent Xavier who purportedly waved tricolour at the pro-Trump rally on January 7 at the US Capitol in Washington DC, which later turned violent taking lives of at least 5 persons.
In his complaint lodged with Kalkaji Police Station in Delhi, advocate Deepak Kumar Singh sought action for sedition and degrading the honour of India in a foreign nation.
Delhi advocate files complaint
The complainant said that Xavier's appeared on social media "along with other individuals who at the moment can't be named, with slogans, actions and demeanour prejudicial to sovereignty, unity and integrity of India by using the Indian flag in an entirely inappropriate context at a degrading and demeaning manner and for purposes which are beneath the probity of the relationship between India and a foreign country".
He said that the man's action amounts to offences under Section 2 of the Indian national, for offences under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 15 (threatening the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967.
In sea of pro-Trump banners, a lone Indian flag: Problematic for many
Among the violence and mayhem at the US Capitol by outgoing President Donald Trump's supporters, Xavier was seen waving Indian flag the venue, an act widely condemned by a large section of Indians who saw it as an insult to the flag.
The lone Indian flag sticking out in a sea of pro-Trump banners seeded sparring between Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and BJP lawmaker Varun Gandhi on Twitter. Many others including senior journalists, activists and politicians expressed anger over the video and reservations at the sight of tricolour at an event many consider as one of the lowest points in US democratic history.
Unfortunately, @varungandhi80, there are some Indians with the same mentality as that Trumpist mob, who enjoy using the flag as a weapon rather than a badge of pride, & denounce all who disagree with them as anti-nationals & traitors. That flag there is a warning to all of us. https://t.co/uJIaDlLklt
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 7, 2021
Not ashamed, says the man
Xavier, however, has said that he meant no disrespect to the Indian flag and his intention was to prove that "America is not a racist country as it is portrayed to be" and embraces diversity.
Speaking to NDTV, he said that he was no ashamed of his action and he was celebrating the diversity in the United States.
"The world has to know that America is not the racist country it is portrayed as. That the Republican party is not white supremacist. If they were racist, they would not allow me to carry the Indian flag. It was actually showing more respect," Xavier, who identified himself as Trump supporter and hails from Kerala, said.
Meanwhile, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair has pointed out that it was not Xavier who waved the flag at the venue but actually a person named Krishna Gudipati, who is allegedly linked to RSS Parivar. He said posted several photos of Xavier and Gudipati posing together at the rally.
