Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday condemned the central government's alleged move to rename India as 'Bharat', and said that it was a part of the repeated "nefarious" attempts by the ruling regime to destroy the nation's pluralism.
Vijayan, in a statement, said that any political decision should not be against the interests of the nation. In the present case, the alleged move to rename the country is "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional", he said.
Questioning why the Centre is afraid of the word 'India', he demanded that the central government withdraw the steps taken by it to change the name of the country.
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The Kerala CM also urged the people to protest together against such "narrow-minded politics".
He said that Article 1 of the Constitution itself refers to our nation as 'India that is Bharat.'
"Similarly, the preamble of the Constitution begins with the words 'We the people of India'. However, what the Centre is attempting now is the removal of the word 'India' through a constitutional amendment," Vijayan alleged.
A political storm was kicked off in the country after invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out on behalf of President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India'.
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Referring to it, Vijayan said it was the prelude to the removal of the word 'India'.
"Why this contempt and fear of the word 'India'? There is a deliberate attempt to erase even the spirit nurtured in children through the Pledge: 'India is my country; all Indians are my brothers and sisters'," he said.
"Political decisions should never be contrary to the foundational ideals of our nation. This dubious attempt is undemocratic and unconstitutional," he added.
-With PTI Input
