Why India needs to be called only Bharat, asks Mamata Banerjee
Amid the raging controversy, the West Bengal chief minister also alleged that ‘history is being rewritten in the country’
Questioning the intent of the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (September 5) questioned what suddenly happened that the country should be called only Bharat.
Referring to the controversy over a G20 dinner invite in the name of ‘President of Bharat’, she said the world knows the country as India.
“I heard that India's name is being changed. The G20 invite that went out in the name of the honourable president has Bharat written on it. We call the country Bharat, what is new in this? In English, we say India... There’s nothing new to be done. The world knows us as India. What happened suddenly that the name of the country needs to be changed?” she asked, addressing a government function in Kolkata. “History is being rewritten in the country,” she added.
There has been no official word from the government on the issue yet. The G20 Summit is being held in Delhi on September 9 and 10 under India’s presidency and several heads of state from across the world, including US President Joe Biden, are attending the event.
Banerjee also attacked Governor CV Ananda Bose, alleging that he was holding back bills passed by the state Assembly. “The governor's actions are an attempt to paralyse state administration. He cannot hold back finance bills,” she said. “If need be, I will sit on dharna outside the Raj Bhavan,” she said.
The chief minister also alleged that the governor was interfering in the functioning of schools, colleges and universities in the state. “If the governor continues to interfere in the functioning of universities, we will block the funds,” she said.
The governor, in his capacity as the chancellor of state-run universities, had on Sunday (September 3) night appointed interim vice-chancellors for seven varsities, including the prestigious Presidency University, MAKAUT and the University of Burdwan. Sources said the interim vice-chancellors of nine other universities have also been finalised and appointment letters “will be issued soon”.
(With agency inputs)
