A sari worn by the TV anchor on which the Indian flag was printed sparked protests on Sunday though she had apologised for her "inadvertent" mistake.
NEW DELHI: A sari worn by TV anchor Mandira Bedi on which the Indian flag was printed at the bottom sparked protests on Sunday though she had apologised for her "inadvertent" mistake.
Shiv Sainiks in Indore set afire Bedi's effigy and said they would file a case against her in a local court under the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act.
Activists of Bajrang Dal protested against Mandira in Chandigarh and demanded stringent punishment against her for denigrating the national flag.
The protesters, led by Dal's local unit general secretary Rajeev Kathuria, also burnt the effigy of Bedi at a busy chowk close to the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT).
"Such an act will not be tolerated," Kathuria said, adding that besides registration of case she must be given stringent punishment.
He also demanded that both hands of designer Puneet Nanda's should be "chopped off" so that nobody in future dare to indulge in such acts.
Bedi, hosting a show on the final match of the World Cup cricket on a TV channel Saturday night, appeared in a sari featuring the national flags of all 16 participating countries, including the tricolour at the bottom.
A case was filed in Jaipur against Bedi and designer Puneet Nanda under the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act for "showing the tricolour as a show piece".
"It was also not in proportion as prescribed in the Constitution," said the complaint filed by Gyan Prakash, director of Save India Foundation.
Under the act, using the flag as a costume or uniform of any description or embroidering or printing it on cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins or any dress material are prohibited.
Taken aback by the criticism, Bedi was quick to apologise. "It was inadvertent and unintentional. I did not want to show disrespect to the national flag," she said on the TV show in the presence of co-anchor Charu Sharma and former cricketers Tony Greig and Ian Chappell.
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