New Delhi: Launching a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre amid the controversy over the country’s name change, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said he would like to challenge the BJP if they dare change the name of India. Kejriwal further said that the BJP government used to run several programmes under the name of India until last year.
Addressing a rally in poll-bound Chhattisgarh on Saturday, Kejriwal said, “Does India belong to your father? It belongs to 140 crore people. I would like to challenge BJP that they dare change the name of India. They (BJP) used to run multiple programs under the name of India until last year. There were drives such as ‘Make In India’ and ‘Digital India’, and once the opposition bloc named their alliance I.N.D.I.A, they (BJP) are mulling the country’s name change.”
He said that he wondered whether BJP would change the name of Bharat to something else if the opposition alliance rechristens itself as ‘Bharat’.
The AAP supremo further stepped up his attack on PM Modi over the latter’s silence on the Anantnag encounter and asked him if he doesn’t feel the grief.
“It's been four days now since they (jawans) lost their lives during the (Anantnag) encounter operation, but PM Modi didn't utter a single word. Why are you not speaking? Don't you feel the grief,” Kejriwal said.
The Delhi Chief Minister was speaking at an election rally at Lalbagh Ground in Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur.
Kejriwal further said if his party is voted to power in Chhattisgarh, he would focus on the education of children. “It has been 75 years since India's Independence but no political party has talked about education till now. We want to make our children educated so that poverty can be eradicated,” he said.
Notably, assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram and Rajasthan are scheduled to be held later this year.