Hyderabad, June 22 -- Veteran BJP leader and former National Council member N Sivarajan has triggered widespread outrage with his controversial call to replace India's national flag with a saffron flag.

The statement was made during a BJP-organised protest at Anchuvilakku Junction in Palakkad, Kerala where the party accused both the LDF and UDF of insulting 'Bharat Mata'.

Sivarajan, who is also a sitting councillor in the Palakkad municipality, asserted that political parties should be barred from using flags resembling the national tricolour.

Taking aim at the Congress and NCP, he suggested that these parties adopt separate flags proposing a green flag for the Congress. He further said, "Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who he alleged w...