‘India-Bharat’ issue being raised to mislead people: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the BJP was raising irrelevant issues like changing the country’s name to Bharat because it was unnerved by the formation of the INDIA coalition

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on September 6 said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was raising irrelevant issues like changing the country’s name to Bharat because it was unnerved by the formation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) coalition.

“The India-Bharat issue reflects the BJP’s panic. The party is desperately trying to mislead the people,” Mr. Kharge said.

Also read | ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ interchangeable, can be used in official invitation, say legal experts

Mr. Kharge was addressing a Kisan Sammelan at Gulabpura in Bhilwara district, where the Rajasthan government’s Kamdhenu livestock insurance scheme was launched and some new projects for the dairy sector were inaugurated. The Congress chief said the BJP was getting nervous because of the like-minded Opposition parties coming together and forming an alliance.

Mr. Kharge said the Congress had already spread the message of Bharat Jodo (Unite India) through its Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The BJP, on the other hand, was trying to defame the Congress and “hoodwink the public opinion”, he said, adding that the Constitution had clearly mentioned both India and Bharat.

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said the leaders like Jai Narayan Vyas and Mohan Lal Sukhadia had laid the foundation of Rajasthan’s progress under the guidance of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, bringing the status of “textile hub” to Bhilwara. He said the Ashok Gehlot government was working in the interest of common people.

The BJP was only trying to intimidate the Congress by flaunting a “red diary”, with which a sacked Minister had made the claims about financial irregularities, Mr. Kharge said, while calling upon the people to bring the Congress back to power in the upcoming State Assembly election.