Had Netaji been among us today: BJP leader drags Mulayam into India vs Bharat row

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, the BJP leader said, "Opposition leaders need to think long and hard before making a public comment

Lucknow: Amid the ‘India vs Bharat’ debate, which followed a formal invite from the “President of Bharat” to foreign delegates for a G20 dinner, BJP leader Aparna Bisht Yadav on Thursday claimed had Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav been alive, he would have supported the renaming of India as ‘Bharat’ as his views to this effect are already recorded in Parliament.

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, the BJP leader said, “Opposition leaders need to think long and hard before making a public comment. Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav), in his lifetime, made many decisions aimed at strengthening the unity and integrity of the country. He often departed from the party line and made decisions in the larger national interest. His advocation of Bharat over India, attack on China, boycott of Chinese products, or wishing the return of Narendra Modi as PM was widely reported.” Calling Mulayam a nationalist and a visionary, the BJP leader said, “If Netaji was among us today, he would have supported the renaming of India as Bharat. His advocation of the same is recorded in Parliament.”

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Earlier, on Wednesday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati hit out at the Opposition bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the use of the phrase ‘President of Bharat in an official invite to G20 delegates from Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying the alliance gave an excuse to the Centre for renaming the country by christening itself as INDIA.

Mayawati said there is apprehension among people that both the ruling party and the opposition are hand-in-glove on the issue. She urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance and ban organisations, parties and alliances that are named after the country.

Recalling the role of BR Ambedkar in drafting the Constitution, she said it was unjustified to change or tweak the country’s statute book and play with the sentiments of the people.

Our party believes this isn’t justified and is totally wrong,” the BSP chief said.