Amid the row over the G20 dinner invites mentioning 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India', Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked how could BJP change the name of the country only because an alliance is being called 'I.N.D.I.A'. He asked what would they do if the alliance changed its name to 'Bharat'. Terming the reports of Centre's attempt to rename 'India' as 'Bharat', Kejriwal said the Bharatiya Janta Party is thinking that with the change of name, the opposition alliance might lose some votes.
"Kya Mazak Hai (Is it a joke)?...," the CM added. He made the remarks during a press conference in the national capital after over induction of 400 e-buses in Delhi.
"If an alliance of some parties become India, would they change the name of the country? The country belongs to 140 crore people, not to a party. Let's assume if the India alliance renames itself as Bharat, would they rename Bharat as BJP then?... What's this joke?... BJP is thinking that their vote count will decrease so they should change the name of Bharat," the CM added.
The CM added that it is not one party's country, "our country is of 140 crore people".
Notably, Congress, AAP, RJD and other opposition parties raised objections and slammed PM Narendra Modi for changing 'President of India' to 'President of Bharat' in the G20 dinner invites, saying that the saffron party is 'scared' of I.N.D.I.A bloc.
Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that in Constitution, it is incorporated as the 'Constitution of India', adding "India is an accepted word for the country making it 'Bharat', I don't think is required".
Should Respect Each Other's Religion: Kejriwal On Santan Dharma Row
Responding to a question about DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against the 'Santan Dharma', the Delhi CM said that one should respect all religion and it is not right to speak anything wrong about any of the religions. However, he did not take Stalin's name throughout his answer.
"I too belong to Sanatan Dharma. We should respect one another's religion, it's wrong to speak against others' faith," he said.
"We should respect each other's religion. It is not right to speak wrongly about each other's religion," Kejriwal added
'One Nation, One Election Will Bring No Good For Citizens'
Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said that when the opposition alliance announced its I.N.D.I.A name, the BJP began the discussion on 'One Nation, One Election'. He said if implemented, they (BJP) would work only once in five years and LPG would be sold at Rs 5,000 per cylinder.
"They will reduce the price by Rs 200 during elections and will forget," the CM said.