“We Could Always Give Our Coalition A Second Name”: Rahul Gandhi On India vs Bharat Name Change Row
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he does not see a problem if the government decides to change India”s name to Bharat, because the Indian Constitution has used both the names. The leader was speaking to the media in France. However, he did take a dig at the government, saying that the naming of the Opposition alliance as INDIA irritated the government and that “got them all heated up and now they decided to change the name of the country.”
“But, we could always give our coalition a second name as well. I don”t think it will serve the purpose. But people act in strange ways,” he added.
It is being speculated that the government will change the name of the country only to Bharat in the special Parliament session convened in the third week of this month, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s nameplate in the G20 sessions said “Bharat” rather than the usual India. “The Constitution actually uses both the names. India in our Constitution is defined as “India that is Bharat, a Union of States”. So, I don’t really see a problem there, both the words are perfectly acceptable. but, I think may be we irritated the government a little bit, because we named our coalition INDIA,” Mr Gandhi said.
“We Could Always Give Our Coalition A Second Name”: @RahulGandhi On #IndiavsBharat Name Change Rowhttps://t.co/3vlUlIlc2P pic.twitter.com/i5yKconV8S
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“These states they have got together and formed India or Bharat and the most important thing is that the voice of all the people who are included in these states is heard loud and clear and no voice is crushed, intimidated,” Mr Gandhi said.
“Because, I believe that India has an inherent wisdom and a very long history, a long tradition, and my experience has been that, regardless of whether people are poor or rich, they have a sense of what India should be doing or where India should be going. To me the first step is protecting that voice, and make it sure that the institutions or structures that protect that voice are working and that are defended,” Mr Gandhi said.
