Siddaramaiah said the Constitution of the country was adopted on 26 November, 1949. Since then it is known as India.
Kerala and Karnataka chief minister condemn renaming India. (X)
Amid the India-Bharat naming row, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that “emotional issues are being brought out” as the Lok Sabha elections are approaching.
Speaking to reporters at Madhugiri in Tumakuru district on Wednesday, 6 September, he said the Constitution of the country was adopted on 26 November, 1949. Since then it is known as India.
The chief minister sought to know the need to change the name of the country.
“The Preamble of the Constitution says, ‘We the citizens of India’. There is no need to rename India. Emotional issues are being brought out ahead of the elections,” he pointed out.
He also said that religion does not discriminate, be it Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism or Buddhism.
Quoting the saying of 12 century AD social reformer Lord Basaveshwara, Siddaramaiah said, “‘Dayave Dharmada Moola’ — Kindness is the root of the religion.”
Siddaramaiah’s counterpart, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also condemned the Union government’s move to rename India as Bharat, and said that it was a part of the repeated “nefarious” attempts by the ruling regime to destroy the nation’s pluralism.
Vijayan, in a statement, said that any political decision should not be against the interests of the nation. In the present case, the alleged move to rename the country is “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”, he said.
Questioning why the Centre is afraid of the word “India”, he demanded that the Union government withdraw the steps taken by it to change the name of the country.
The Kerala chief minister also urged the people to protest together against such “narrow-minded politics”.
The attempt to change #India‘s name is an attack on the Constitution, and our unity. Let’s stand firm against this narrow politics, which seeks to divert public attention from the real issues. Our pledge remains unchanged: ‘India is my country; all Indians are my brothers and…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) September 6, 2023
He said that Article 1 of the Constitution itself refers to our nation as “India, that is Bharat.”
“Similarly, the Preamble of the Constitution begins with the words ‘We the people of India’. However, what the Centre is attempting now is the removal of the word ‘India’ through a constitutional amendment,” Vijayan alleged.
Referring to it, Vijayan said it was the prelude to the removal of the word ‘India’.
“Why this contempt and fear of the word ‘India’? There is a deliberate attempt to erase even the spirit nurtured in children through the Pledge: “India is my country; all Indians are my brothers and sisters,” he said.
“Political decisions should never be contrary to the foundational ideals of our nation. This dubious attempt is undemocratic and unconstitutional,” he added.
A political storm was kicked off in the country after invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out on behalf of President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the customary ‘President of India’.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 12, 2024
May 12, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 08, 2024
