"Name Of The Country Should Be Changed To Bharat": BJP Leader In Lok Sabha
NEW DELHI: Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Satyapal Singh on Monday demanded in the Lok Sabha that the name of the country should be changed to Bharat.
Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Mr Singh said the first paragraph of the Constitution has a mention 'India that is Bharat'.
"The use of 'India' should end. The name of this country is Bharat, which is a powerhouse of knowledge. This name (India) should be changed. Such a country, which is the greatest in the world," said Mr Singh, a former IPS officer and Lok Sabha member from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.
"Even the Gods said we were fortunate to have been born in Bharat. Hence the name of the country should be changed to Bharat," he said, quoting from scriptures.
Mr Singh, who was minister of state for education, said the President's address was a guarantee of the guarantees given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We will work together to end poverty in the country, will end terrorism and casteism...we will restore India's past glory by making it a selfreliant and developed nation by 2047," the BJP leader said.
He said the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was an expression of the faith of crores of devotees and that the prime minister was working towards establishing Ram Rajya in the country.
"We will not rest till Ram Rajya is established. Mahatma Gandhi spoke about establishing Ram Rajya during the freedom struggle. The Prime Minister is following the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Maharshi
Dayanand and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, and working towards establishing Ram Rajya in the country," Mr Singh said.
Trinamool Congress member Satabdi Roy sought to punch holes in the government's claims of pulling out 25 crore people from multidimensional poverty, contending that the data pertained to Covid years when surveys were not conducted.
She said issues such as unemployment, high inflation, safety and security of girl child, MSP for farmers, Manipur, and the reality of the suffering of train passengers were missing from the President's address.
Roy said BJP members were claiming that Prime Minister Modi had brought Lord Ram back to Ayodhya.