Bengaluru: Amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the renaming of India to ‘Bharat’, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundurao on Tuesday lashing out at the center stated that, "Both 'India' and 'Bharat' hold special places in our hearts, there is no difference between both. Renaming it 'Bharat' with good intentions is not objectionable. It is an act of stupidity to rename the country’s name to ‘Bharat’ in the context of opposition parties uniting to form an alliance under the name I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Dinesh stated, “The central government is planning to rename the country as 'Bharat' instead of 'INDIA' because of the opposition alliance's adoption of the name 'I.N.D.I.A. Is BJP so afraid of INDIA alliance? What is the motive behind renaming the country apart from the reason of fear of opposition alliance 'INDIA',” he asked, posing this question to PM Modi.
He further added that, “If the name INDIA is changed to 'Bharat' will the country change? Dear Modi, what needs to be changed is not the name of the country, but the situation of the country. Instead of changing the name, change the standard of living of the people. Change the minds of your devotees who are disturbing the peace of society through hatred. Make this country a garden of peace for all religions.”
The row came to light after reports claiming that an invite for a G20 dinner was sent by the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sept 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual ‘President of India. A photo of the same also went viral over the internet, sparking debate across the country.
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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
