Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday hit out at the BJP on “India-Bharat” row and said that the saffron party has provoked it and trying to break the country.

RAIPUR:  Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday hit out at the BJP on the “India-Bharat” row and said that the saffron party has provoked it and trying to break the country.

Addressing the Chhattisgarh government programme, ‘Bharose Ka Sammelan’ in Rajnandgaon district, the home constituency of BJP ex-CM Raman Singh, the Congress leader claimed that his party is engaged in uniting Bharat. He asked that if the BJP is so antagonised with the word ‘India’ why then it named schemes like ‘Skill India’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘Startup India’.

लाईव: भरोसे का सम्मेलन। भरोसा बरकरार, फ़िर से कांग्रेस सरकार ! #CongressBharosaSammelan https://t.co/Y3VLW0e74X

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 8, 2023

“An alliance INDIA for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has been formed by us and now BJP is saying the country’s name India should be changed to Bharat. Why are they triggering a dispute when there is both India and Bharat in the Constitution itself”, he asserted and further stated that there is a need to fight such a frame of mind (of BJP).

Kharge asserted that Congress is not against calling India as Bharat as claimed by the BJP and said, “We adore Bharat. The foot march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir by Rahul Gandhi was named Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress is engaged in uniting Bharat”.

He eulogised the Baghel government for its accomplishments. “In Chhattisgarh’s land of communal harmony, the work of the CM and the members of his cabinet remains phenomenal. They have lived up to the trust and expectations of the people. This is the government of the poor, Dalits, backwards and farmers”, he said and asked why the BJP was not performing as the Congress government. 

छत्तीसगढ़ में आयोजित 'भरोसे के सम्मेलन' में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge ने PM मोदी की देशविरोधी नीतियों पर करारा प्रहार किया। मोदी सरकार के जुल्मों को गरीब जनता माफ नहीं करने वाली। आपकी अहंकारी सोच और सत्ता का अंत निकट है। pic.twitter.com/hKkMjAPURB

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 8, 2023

After the ‘Bharose Ka Sammelan’, when asked by media persons about the comment given by Udhayanidhi Stalin, he said that religion and politics are different things and there is no need to mix them. “I don’t wish to discuss it as I have come to participate in the programme meant for commons”, he stated.