"Is RSS setting agenda for nation?": DMK MP Kanimozhi on 'India vs Bharat' row
Sep 05, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 5 : Reacting to the G20 summit dinner invitation being sent in the name of 'President of Bharat', DMK MP Kanimozhi on Tuesday asked whether the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is setting the agenda for the entire nation.
"Reading this (G20 summit dinner invitation) brings up a lot of questions. Is RSS setting the agenda for the entire nation?" Kanimozhi asked while talking to ANI.
Saying that using 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India' is unprecedented, she questioned the politics behind the move.
"We've never seen invitations going out in the name of 'President of Bharat', it is always been 'President of India' or Prime Minister of India'. Why have they done this now? What is the intention behind it? What is the politics behind it?" the DMK MP questioned.
"It (Bharat) has been in the Constitution all these years but nobody used it. Recently, the RSS chief said that the name of India has to be changed," Kanimozhi added.
Regarding the Centre having been called a special session of Parliament, she said that the Opposition did not know the agenda.
"We don't know why the special session of Parliament has been called. We don't know what the agenda is," Kanimozhi said.
Earlier in the day, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh claimed that Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'.
The BJP came under heavy criticism from the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) with senior leaders coming down heavily on the Central government for such a move.
Responding to the development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at the Centre asking whether they would change the name of the nation to Bharatiya Janata Party if the INDIA bloc gets changed into Bharat.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Kejriwal said that the BJP-led government is doing so because the Opposition bloc has given itself the name that is –INDIA.
“I do not have any official information regarding it, but got to know through the press. This is being done because INDIA is a coalition of Opposition parties. Will they change the name of the country if someone makes a party with its name? This is a country of 140 cr people. What if the INDIA bloc decides to change its name to Bharat after holding a meeting tomorrow? Will they then change the name of Bharat to BJP?” the Delhi CM said.
