In an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the RSS "did not hoist the tricolour at its headquarters for 52 years" and people coming from that organisation are now talking about the tricolour's history and planning 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign.

His attack came hours after Prime Minister Modi appealed to people to strengthen the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' movement by hoisting or displaying the national flag in their homes between August 13-15.

In a series of tweets, Modi said this movement will "deepen our connect with the tricolour" and noted that it was on July 22 in 1947 that the national flag was adopted. In a Facebook post in Hindi, Gandhi said the saffron colour in the tricolour symbolizes courage and sacrifice, white symbolizes truth and purity and green is considered a symbol of prosperity.

"The 24 spokes of Ashoka Chakra made on white colour also have a special meaning, these spokes represent the 24 qualities of a human being. An important thing related to the tricolour is that it should always be of cotton, silk or khadi," Gandhi said.

In an apparent attack at the RSS, Gandhi said an organisation refused to adopt the tricolour for which many people of the country were martyred. The organisation did not hoist the tricolour at its headquarters in Nagpur for 52 years and "disrespected" the tricolour continuously, he alleged.

"Today, people who have come out of the same organization are telling the history of the tricolour, are planning a 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign," Gandhi said. "These people steeped in propaganda should just answer a few questions -- Why did RSS not hoist the tricolour at its headquarters for 52 years? Why is the livelihood of those who make the national flag out of khadi being destroyed? Why was the import of machine-made, polyester flags allowed from China?" the former Congress chief said in his post.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the government and said the flag is a symbol of unity, pride, tolerance, sacrifice and self-confidence in a country of diverse colours, forms, places, dialects, food habits and beliefs."'Vijayi vishwa tiranga pyaara, jhanda uncha rahe humara'. These are not mere words, it is the feeling of 140 crore Indians," Priyanka Gandhi said on Twitter.

"Modi ji, the tricolour made of khadi shows the self-power of the country and livelihood of lakhs of people is associated with it. Hope on this historic day, you will listen to those making flags from khadi and take a sensitive decision on their demand," she said.

Attacking the prime minister, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, "Hypocrisy Zindabad! From someone who is destroying livelihoods of those who make national flags from khadi, once described by Nehru as the livery of India's freedom."

"From someone who was a pracharak in the organisation that took 52 years to hoist the National Flag in Nagpur!" he said, in an apparent attack at the prime minister. Earlier this month, the Congress had alleged that the BJP has no understanding of the freedom struggle and its symbols, and sought the withdrawal of the amendment to the National Flag code that allows the manufacture and import of polyester flags.?

(With PTI Inputs)