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‘My one tweet made Congress remember..’: Himanta Sarma's dig at opposition over ‘INDIA’ name

Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday announced that the alliance of the 26 opposition parties would be called as ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’.

Published on: Jul 19, 2023, 20:33:00 IST
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma on Wednesday took a jibe at the Congress over the re-christening of the 26-party alliance as 'India' saying that his one tweet on BHARAT made Congress remember the success of PM Modi's initiatives like Skill India and Digital India.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (File Photo)
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (File Photo)

Read here: Complaint filed against 26 Opposition parties for 'improper use' of term ‘INDIA’

The BJP leader tweeted, “I made one tweet on BHARAT and Congress remembered the huge success of Start-Up India, Skill India and Digital India. The Constitutional adoption of the name - India, was borrowed from a Colonial legacy and continues to remain in force like many such legacies. But the civilisational conflict between Bharat and India runs much deeper than a mere choice of names. BHARAT must Win, BHARAT will Win.”

Sarma's comment came after the Congress hit back at the former for criticising the alliance name saying he should tell this to the prime minister who gave names such as 'Skill India' and Start-up India' for government schemes.

Read here: Himanta Biswa deletes India from Twitter bio, adds Bharat after trolling

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday tweeted, "Is the Assam CM having a surplus of sour grapes in his mouth? His new mentor, Mr. Modi, gave us Skill India, Start-up India and Digital India -- all new names for ongoing programmes. He's asked CMs of different states to work together as 'Team India'. He even made an appeal to Vote India!" Ramesh said on Twitter."

"But when 26 political parties call their formation INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance), he (Sarma) throws a fit and says use of India reflects 'colonial mentality'! He should go tell that to his Boss," he added.

Read here: Bengaluru meet: INDIA secretariat in Delhi, next meeting in Mumbai | Top updates

Assam chief minister was referring to his Tuesday's tweet where he took a dig at opposition parties and called the acronym 'INDIA' an indicator of ‘colonial legacies’.

Sarma said, ''Our civilizational conflict is pivoted around India and Bharat. The British named our country India. We must strive to free ourselves from colonial legacies. Our forefathers fought for Bharat, and we will continue to work for Bharat."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday announced that the alliance of the 26 opposition parties would be called as ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’ (INDIA) which will take on the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Read here: Caste census, Manipur feature in Opposition Bengaluru declaration. Read full text here

A two-day brainstorming session of the opposition parties to strategize for the next year's general elections was held in Bengaluru from July 17-18. The newly formed alliance also released a declaration, ‘Samuhik Sankalp’ which mentions about various issues ranging from caste census, Manipur violence to role of Governors and LGs, and demonetisation.

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