Siddu terms Bharat-India row BJP’s ‘drama’

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday slammed the BJPled Union government’s purported plan to change the official name of India to Bharat, pointing out that the saffron party had named their programmes ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ etc.

He made the remarks at a programme organised to felicitate Rajya Sabha MP and Member of Congress Working Committee (CWC) Naseer Hussain at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on Sunday.

“BJP, which named its programmes like Make in India, Skill India, Start Up India, is now shocked by the name ‘INDIA’ and is going to say the name of the country as ‘Bharat’. We are the ones who marched for ‘Bharat Jodo’. The BJP is now trying to teach us about India which is foolishness. They have no respect for India either. They do not understand the dignity of India,” Siddaramaiah said.

“They are indulging in a drama by trying to change the name of the country,” he added.

The CM berated the BJP for allegedly destroying the plurality of the country, adding that Congress would uphold India’s multiculturalism. “Destruction of India’s pluralism means destruction of our constitution, there is a plan to destroy India’s pluralistic culture of thousands of years.

They are giving catchy words and slogans for this. India’s social, political and economic cohesion will be destroyed if people fall prey to it,” Siddaramaiah said.

“India’s pluralist culture is safe in the hands of Congress. Indian Constitution is safe in our hands. No matter how many political conspiracies anyone hatches, we will maintain a pluralistic India, the heritage of this soil, secular culture and the Indian Constitution,” he added.

Praise for Nasser Hussain

Siddaramaiah also heaped praise on Rajya Sabha MP and new CWC member Naseer Hussain for the active role he was playing as an Opposition leader.

“Naseer Hussain joined politics as a student leader in the state and has become a national leader now,” he said.

“Naseer Hussain is effectively presenting the party’s ideology, principles and fighting spirit in the Rajya Sabha,” he added.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar presided over the programme, former Union Minister Salman Khurshid, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leader of Bihar Assembly Shakeel Ahmed, Maharashtra Congress Leader Baba Siddiqui, Minister Priyank Kharge, Chief Minister’s Political Secretary Naseer Ahmed, among other party leaders were present.