National News
Uttarakhand BJP MLA uses government logo on wedding invite. His defence: ‘I am part of govt’
"I was marrying off a poor girl as my own daughter. Why can't people see that?" the BJP MLA said.
An Uttarakhand MLA has come under scanner for using the state government logo on a wedding card. BJP MLA Suresh Rathor from Haridwar district’s Jwalapur constituency, however, remains defiant even as he admitted using the government logo for a private affair. The legislator on Tuesday said it wasn’t a crime since he is a part of the state government.
The logo is placed on the top left corner of the white-coloured card. It also has the BJP MLA’s name on the bottom-left side of the card. The wedding is scheduled to take place today.
“I am marrying off a poor girl as my own daughter. Why can’t people see that? I’m a part of the govt so I used the logo on the card. It’s not a crime. I have seen several people do that,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
The Emblem of Uttarakhand is used on all official correspondence by the state government. The emblem, which is visible on the cover of the wedding card, is diamond in shape with the Indian State Emblem placed inside it. The law mandates that state governments can use the Indian Emblem as a part of the state logo after taking permission from the central government.
According to the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005, no person can use “the state emblem or any colourable imitation thereof in any manner which tends to create an impression that it relates to the Government or that it is an official document of the Central Government or as the case may be, the State Government, without the previous permission of the Central Government or of such officer of that Government as may be authorised by it in this behalf.”
