I.N.D.I. alliance outrages over ‘Bharat’ name, but their partner Samajwadi Party once promised it in election manifesto

The speculative report claiming that the Union government could ‘rename’ India as Bharat in the special session of Parliament has left the opposition in a tizzy. 

The majority of the I.N.D.I. alliance partners have lamented over the supposed move and even termed it an act of ‘betrayal’ of the nation. 

India का नाम बदलकर Bharat क्यों किया जा रहा हैं?

कहा जा रहा है कि INDIA Alliance के नाम की वजह से। अगर कुछ पार्टियों का नाम India हो जाता है तो वो देश का नाम बदल देंगे? देश तो 140 करोड़ लोगों का है, कुछ पार्टियों को थोड़ी ना है।

मान लीजिए Alliance का नाम बदलकर कल Bharat हो गया,… pic.twitter.com/YK5NNSSg6F

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 5, 2023

Interestingly, AAP, Congress, RJD, and DMK among others have linked the yet-to-be-confirmed move with their alliance name.  

After Non-BJP forces united to dethrone the fascist BJP regime and aptly named their alliance #INDIA, now the BJP wants to change ‘India’ for ‘Bharat.’

BJP promised to TRANSFORM India, but all we got is a name change after 9 years!

Seems like the BJP is rattled by a single term…

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 5, 2023

हमारा नारा है “जुड़ेगा भारत, जीतेगा INDIA”. भारत ही INDIA है और INDIA ही भारत है। मोदी सरकार घबराहट में INDIA से डरी हुई है। मोदी जी खुद Vote for INDIA माँगते है।pic.twitter.com/RNZoZzjBWS

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 5, 2023

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc, which is ironically yet to decide on a common leader or even a seat-sharing formula, claimed that their supposed ‘unity’ has rattled the incumbent government and the government is drafting laws or making efforts solely after taking their alliance into consideration. 

While their meltdown is out in the open and their ecosystem is shedding copious amounts of tears, one alliance partner has conspicuously maintained an ambiguous stand. In fact, the left-out alliance partner of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc had in the past vowed to change India’s name to Bharat if elected to power. Apparently, the alliance partner in question is the Samajwadi Party on whose shoulders the majority weight of the alliance rests. 

Evidently, the prominent handles of the Samajwadi Party including their IT cell have maintained a distance from this politically significant issue that has stormed their alliance partners. Instead, the entire focus has been diverted to Ghosi by-polls.

Will correct the ‘flaw’ in the constitution: SP manifesto

Remarkably, the Samajwadi Party-led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, the erstwhile party Chief and Father of Former CM and current party Chief Akhilesh Yadav had promised in their 2004 manifesto that if they were voted to power, they would change the name of the country from India to Bharat. 

The manifesto said, “We demand that to protect the dignity and self-esteem of the country, India should become Bharat. Our country has long been known as Bharat. But during the 200 years rule of the British Raj, the name was altered and made India.” 

In its 16-page manifesto published in Hindi, released by Mulayam Singh Yadav in April 2004, SP claimed that calling the country ‘India’ was “a serious flaw” in the Indian Constitution. It promised that if the party comes to power at the centre will rectify this flaw in a speedy manner. 

The Samajwadi Party added, “God knows how the Constitution-makers mentioned India first and kept repeating it. It was only later that it said, ‘India that is Bharat’.”

Stating that the party will amend the constitution for the same, the manifesto further stated, “The party feels that changing the name was wrong and, as soon as we come to power, we will amend the constitution and, after consultations, change the name of India to Bharat.” 

However, it is to be maintained that there is no official confirmation that the reports will actually materialize or not but if things persist, the efforts of SP to bid their time on this issue could lead to another political scuffle between the so-called alliance partners in I.N.D.I.A. bloc.