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Journalism of Courage
Amid the row over a G20 invitation bearing the phrase ‘President of Bharat‘, with the Opposition claiming that the move betrayed BJP’s fear of the INDIA bloc, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of “shallow politics” being done on ‘Bharat’ and ‘INDIA’ and demanded a ban on all political bodies formed in the name of the country.
“Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of the shallow politics being done on ‘Bharat’ and ‘INDIA’ and ban all organisations, parties, and alliances formed in the name of the country,” Mayawati said at a press conference here.
The former chief minister also alleged that the Opposition parties by naming its alliance ‘INDIA’, gave the BJP and the NDA the opportunity to “tamper with the Constitution” on the issue of the name of the country.
“The reality is the Opposition by naming its alliance as INDIA with a well-thought strategy and conspiracy gave the opportunity to the BJP-led NDA to tamper with the Constitution on the issue of the name of the country. Also, there is an apprehension that all this is happening with an internal collusion of the ruling dispensation and the Opposition. This should be condemned,” she said.
Mayawati said Bharat i.e. India is a popular, dignified and constitutional name of the country, and that “the NDA and its government at the Centre should have moved to the Supreme Court against the naming of opposition parties’ alliance as ‘INDIA or the government should have prohibited the naming by making a law”.
“Bharat that is India is a well-known and dignified constitutional name. The people of our country, belonging to all castes and religions, have immense love and respect for the sacred humanitarian and public welfare constitution of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and it is highly inappropriate to play with their sentiments by changing and tampering with them,” she said.
Mayawati said the people understand the game plan of the Congress and the BJP to make it “Bharat versus India” ahead of the general elections due next year.
Mayawati said both parties have ignored the essential issues of poverty, inflation, unemployment and development. “That is why, our party’s (BSP) move to maintain distance between both the casteist, communal and capitalist alliances is completely right and in the interest of people,” she added.
The BSP has not aligned either with the NDA or opposition alliance INDIA bloc. The party has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and a handful of MLAs in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttrakhand.
The ruling BJP has, however, countered the claim asserting there was nothing wrong in using Bharat as it is part of the constitution. — With PTI Inputs
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