India vs Bharat: Blatant attempt to distort country’s history, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against BJP and the government

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against BJP and the government on the Rashtrapati Bhawan sending out invites for a G20 dinner of September 9 in the name of President of Bharat instead of the usual President of India.

She said that this is a blatant attempt to distort the history of India. “I heard that today they have changed the name of ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’. This is a blatant attempt to distort the history of the country. They are always trying to do this. But it is not acceptable to us,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a function on the occasion of the Teachers Day here on Tuesday afternoon.

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Speaking on the occasion she also launched a scathing attack against the decision of the Governor C.V. Ananda Bose to appoint interim vice- chancellors for different state universities. She also threatened to start economic blockades against those universities who will follow the instructions of the Governor, who by virtue of his chair is also chancellor of the state universities.

“We make the police and provide funds and you will do unnecessary interference in the university affairs. Now I want to give a straight caution that if any state university operates as per the directions of the Governor, I will create economic blockades for them. How will you pay the salaries then? If necessary I will personally lead an agitation in front of the Governor’s House,” the chief minister said.

Reacting to the Chief Minister’s comments, state BJP leader and the former national secretary of the party Rahul Sinha said that the Governor is taking the right steps to free the state universities from unnecessary political interference of the state’s ruling party.

“Does the Chief Minister want to get the education system in the state totally collapsed by threatening to create economic blockades for the state universities? This is a dangerous practice,” Sinha said.

The CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that neither the chief minister nor the Governor is really interested in betterment of the state’s education sector. “Both are pushing their respective political agenda as a result of which the academic atmosphere of the state is getting vitiated,” he said.