The Telangana State Planning Board Vice Chairman and advocate B Vinod laughed away at Modi’s move to change the name of the country from India to Bharat. He said Article 1 of the Indian Constitution clearly says ‘India that is Bharat shall be a union of states’ and people have been using the words India and Bharat interchangeably for ages. What was the new thing that Mr Modi and his crony wanted to do, he posed.
Many states use India while many other states use Bharat referring to the country and the institutions and individuals depending on the context. Since the G20 invitation where the word Bharat was mentioned came out, there has been widespread uproar against the proposed move by the BJP-led NDA government. Indeed there was nothing to be alarmed about it. However, the context and the ill intention of BJP government came under the scanner.
Harping on antic after antic, Mr Modi is trying to raise the public sympathy and garner their votes. But his moves only revealed his fear of losing the election this time.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao.